But Who's Going To Save You?
by Damn Fireys
Summary: It took Felicity moving to the other side of the world to discover who she really belonged with. It took her new friends a little longer to realise that sometimes the one you're supposed to be with is right underneath your nose. OC fic with some DL & JH
1. The Boy in the Well, pt 1

_Greetings all! I'm not new to Fan Fiction (I actually normally write under another pen name, but I'm supposed to be on hiatus so I'm hiding out here), but I am new to RSO (my latest brand of heroin). Hopefully, it's going to be fairly accurate, but with just about any other show where you can get a detailed recap, you can't with RSO. Seriously – what's that about?_

_Sorry, I have a habit of harping on. Timeline wise, we're looking at this fitting in after episode 3x12: Break Out. (That's the one with the prison bus). Gonna be honest – I'm not going to pretend there won't be spoilers, because there will be. But if I use a specific episode, I will pre-warn you at the top of the chapter._

_Language – it's in there, but no more than what you get in the show. Unless you're watching it in England and everything has been blanked out._

_Which leaves me to say, if anything RSO related even remotely belonged to me, I would be driving a better car, and I certainly wouldn't be in the UK. The only thing that belongs to me are my OCs. (Oh yeah, it's an OC fic.) Pairing wise – well, let's see how the show goes, shall we_

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><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 1: The Boy in the Well (pt 1)**

"You're not going out wearing that, are you?"

Felicity glanced back at her reflection, giving herself the once over. Shiny black shoes with a modest heel, dark jeans, and a cerise vest top. Her thick, black hair, was tied back in a low pony tail. Straightened, it hung just below her waist, thanks to the extensions her fiance, Cole, had paid for. Her makeup was suitable for a first day at work, and the only jewellery she was wearing was her engagement ring. Unsure, Felicity looked back at Cole who was watching her from the bed and cocked her head.

"You look nice," Cole told her. "But it's not like you're going to be sat in an office all day. You're going to be pulling idiots out from car wrecks and climbing mountains. Don't you want to wear something you won't mind getting ruined?"

Felicity gave Cole a small smile. "I don't think I'm going to be climbing mountains," she told him, amused. Most of the time he was telling her she should be safely behind a desk. "But I'm not going to be wearing this if a call comes in. I have a uniformed issued."

Cole emitted a sound much akin to a growl and sat upright, causing Felicity to wince and wish she'd never mentioned it. Cole Turner had moved to the United Kingdom on an eighteen month transfer to play for the Leeds Rhinos from the Roosters. They'd met in a garage, of all places, when both were waiting to get their cars serviced. The next thing Felicity knew, they were dating.

At first, he didn't mind that she was a full time firewoman and part time member of Mountain Rescue. But at some point, he did. It probably didn't help that she was the only female on each team – but despite the fact she kept trying to assure him that nothing had ever happened with any of the guys nor had she ever wished something would, he could get funny with the idea.

Then Cole discovered that his loan contract wasn't going to get renewed and he had to move back to Sydney. That night he proposed. Two months later, she was standing in the middle of her bedroom, trying to work out what to wear for the first day of her job.

Felicity grinned, kicking her shoes off. "So?" she asked, slowly peeling the top off to reveal her lacy bra. "Is it the top that's the problem?" She flung it to one side and inched her way over to the bed.

Cole's mouth twitched. "Not as much as that bra is," he told, lunching forward and flinging her on the bed. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you going to work wearing that."

"Really?" she asked, smirking. "You don't like the idea of knowing what underwear I'm wearing when no one else has a clue?"

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><p>Felicity was nervous. She had spent countless hours going into burning buildings, abseiling down cliff faces – she'd even told her dad she was getting married, and yet, standing outside of the Rescue station, her hands were trembling.<p>

She took another look down. Eventually they had decided on a three-quarter length shirt with the jeans, but already Felicity was wishing she had stuck with her original choice. It may have been the winter months there, but at 22 degrees, it was still warmer than most summer days in Leeds.

"You alright?" a voice asked her, startling her from her day dreams. "Sorry," the owner of the voice apologised at her startled expression.

"Oh, I'm fine," Felicity quickly told him, flushing. He was definitely one from the 'pretty' variety - taller than her 5 foot 6 frame, built like cole, but with dark hair and dark eyes. "Just trying to pluck up the courage to go in. and now I've managed to embarrass myself further, at least I can be thankful you're not the person I have to see."

The man gave her an amused grin. "And what makes you think I'm not the one you need to see?"

Felicity pulled a crumpled letter from her back pocket and squinted at the name. "Well unless you're name is Michelle Le…" she trailed off.

"LeTourneau?" the man offered.

"LeTourneau," Felicity nodded. "And you're wearing a really good disguise, then yes, I'm fairly certain you're not the person I need to speak to."

"Mee-shell," the man told her. "It's French for Michael."

"Oh shit," Felicity muttered, the blood draining from her face.

"Jordan!" A female voice yelled behind them. "Seriously, do I have to keep you on a leash?"

Felicity turned to the red headed woman in confusion, before looking back at the man next to her. Unable to keep a straight face, he burst out laughing.

"Am I missing something?" the woman asked, just as confused as Felicity.

Felicity sighed as the penny dropped and she held her hand out. "Hi, I'm Felicity. That's English for gullible."

The red head took her hand, shaking it slowly, still looking puzzled. "Heidi. That's English for Hei…" she trailed off. "I don't get it."

Felicity gave her an embarrassed grin and pointed at the still laughing Jordan. "Oh, just being introduced to Michelle here."

"Michelle?" Heidi repeated slowly before suddenly understanding what had happened. She turned and smacked Jordan upside the head. "Real mature!" she exclaimed, ignoring his protests. "C'mon," she said, linking her arm though Felicity's. "Let me introduce you to the real Michelle."

Heidi let her inside and upstairs into an open plan office space where an older man was waiting for them, his arms folded and a frown on his face. "Heidi-ho, you'd better have that payment for me?"

"It pains me to part with this," Heidi informed him, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it over.

"We had a deal, Heidi," the man responded, his attention on the PSP disc in his hands. "You and Jordan both have a Saturday night off together, and you get me Lego Harry Potter." He looked up. "Didn't it come with a case?"

"Didn't last night come with a lie-in?" she retorted, earning a grin off him as he slipped the disc in his pocket. "Vince, this is Felicity."

Vince looked her up and down. "The fiery ex-pat. We've been expecting you."

"I wouldn't exactly call myself fiery," Felicity mumbled awkwardly.

Vince beamed, rubbing his hands together in glee. "Oh we are going to have some fun with you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dragged her into the middle of the room. "Lara, Dean, Chase!" he called, three heads looking over at him. "Fresh meat!"

"Really, Vince? At least let me get her contract signed so she can't escape before you start teasing. I'm Michelle," a blonde woman in a suit announced as Vince released his hold.

* * *

><p>Most of the morning had gone by before Felicity was released from Michelle's grasp – all paperwork signed, locker assigned, and uniform issued. She had been given the grand tour of the station before being left in the changing room to put her new uniform on. Felicity stared at her reflection, admiring the new clothes.<p>

"Looking good," said Chase, watching her from the doorway.

Felicity gave him a smile. "I'm not completely vain," she told him. "It's just it's new. It'll probably stay like this for an hour and I wanted to take a moment to enjoy that."

"Were you really a fiery?" Chase asked, curiously.

Felicity sighed, turning. "I don't know where you guys got your information from, but I can assure you, I don't have a temper."

"Fiery... fireman... woman," Chase shrugged, leaning against the door frame.

"That depends," Felicity responded.

"On what?"

"On if they're the enemy or not?" she asked, warily.

"Are the fierys the enemy?" Vince asked, appearing behind Chase. "Later, I will fill you in on the footy match of '86. Now it can wait. We've got a kid in the well. Make tracks, Flickety-split."

Felicity smacked her locker shut and dashed after Chase. "You wanna ride with us?" Heidi asked her as they got to the trucks.

"Nah, we're with Dean," Chase answered for her, grabbing Felicity's elbow and leading her to the opposite vehicle. "Trust me," Chase muttered as they climbed in the back.

"Trust you?" Dean questioned from the driver's seat. He glanced back at Felicity. "Do so at your own risk."

Chase shot him a glare. "Trust me that she doesn't want to be in a car with Heidi and Jordan."

"Actually, he has a point, Dean," Lara agreed, turning in her seat. "They're at it like rabbits."

"You're not supposed to side with Chase," Dean informed her.

Felicity sat back, amused. "Are they not at it like rabbits, then?"

Dean looked at Lara. "Oh, they are," Dean told her, glancing at her in the rear view mirror. "In fact, as a free piece of advice, I would knock on every door before you enter. I walked in on them in the shower – now I have Jordan's arse engrained in my head." He shuddered. "The point is, Lara should be agreeing with me."

"Because older brother always has to be right," Chase muttered beside her.

Felicity's mouth fell open. "You're brothers?"

Lara snorted with laughter. "You really can't sense the brotherly love?"

"You got any brothers or sisters?" Dean asked Felicity, swiping at Lara.

"Older sister," Felicity replied. "She works in sales. Bane of my life growing up. She kept stealing my clothes," she explained. "And like all younger siblings, I had the better sense of style."

"Better style?" Dean cried. "I don't think so."

Chase turned to Felicity, beaming. "I like you already. And she has a point Dean. You still have your Metallica t-shirts."

"Collector's items, Chasey," Dean called back at him. "Which you would know if you hadn't just left nursery."

"Sorry, we can't all be as close to retirement age as you," Chase shot back.

Felicity's eyes met Lara's, certain they were wearing matching grins. "Only child," Lara mouthed at her.

For the first time all day, Felicity felt the nerves disappear and a sense of calm set in. She was going to like it here. "And who gets to play parent the most?"

Lara shrugged. "Most of the time, you just sit back and let them kill each other. They grow tired of it eventually."

"We _are_ in the car, you know?" Chase pointed out.

"Not for much longer," Dean corrected him, as he pulled up behind Heidi and Jordan.

Felicity slid out of the car and glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Sure, she hadn't seen much of Sydney yet, much less the surrounding countryside, but as far as she was concerned, she was in the middle of nowhere. They had come to the stop at the base of a rather large cliff and there was no well in sight. "Um, I'm either going to ask an obvious question or a stupid one, but where the hell is the well?"

Dean handed her a bag and some rope and pointed up to the top of the cliff. "Quickest route is up there. It's a three hour drive to access that by car."

"I thought you Rescue had a helicopter at its disposal?" Felicity asked with a frown. "Not that I'm complaining about climbing," she added, hurrying after Dean and Lara. "But surely _that's_ the quickest option?"

"Don't get me started on that policy," Heidi grunted, dropping some equipment off before marching back to the trucks.

Felicity let her backpack slide off her shoulders. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

"To cut a very long story short, a chopper crashed thanks to a bunch of idiots not doing the checks. All Rescue helicopters have been grounded until an investigation has been completed," Chase quickly explained.

Felicity nodded. "I saw that on the news the other week. I thought that was a Life Blood aircraft though?"

"It was," Chase muttered. "But it's a bit of a sore topic around here. I'll fill you in later. What's the plan, Dean?" he asked, changing the subject as Heidi and Jordan joined them with the last of the equipment.

"Lara and I will…" he trailed off, frowning. It was faint, but even Felicity could hear the cries for help. He took a deep breath. "Heidi, Jordan, Chase – go see what that is." As the three disappeared he turned to Felicity. "What are your rock climbing skills like?"

Felicity shrugged, already getting her harness on. "Good enough to get into Rescue. Confident enough to get myself to the top."

Dean considered her for a moment. "When we get back, I'll have you on the wall. Lara and I will go up first, secure an anchor and you can follow with the gear."

Felicity nodded. She was actually really good at climbing and mountaineering, preferring the Mountain Rescue volunteering to her paid job, but having been a team leader back home, she would have done exactly the same thing. It turned out that Dean and Lara were easily at the same level as her, and had nearly reached the top when their radio's burst into action.

"_Rescue 3 to Rescue Team Leader"_

"Go ahead," Dean responded.

"_Yeah, Dean, we have a bit of a problem," _Jordan told them. "_We've got a teenager hanging off the cliff face about a click west of where you are. It's the kid's older brother."_

"Jordan, can you handle it?" Dean asked.

"_That's a negative,"_ Jordan replied. "_The cliff is very unstable here. We're going to have to back track to a safer area to climb up."_

Still hanging off the side of the cliff, Dean sighed. "Rescue Team Leader to Rescue Base, Vince are you getting this?"

"_Every word," _Vince confirmed.

"I'll go," Lara told Dean as she pulled herself over the top. "It'll half the time. You and Flick can handle get started on the kid in the well and I'll send one of the others back to take my place."

While Lara was busy anchoring a rope, sending the end down to Felicity, Dean looked down at Felicity. "You think you can handle it?"

Felicity nodded, already swinging the backpack and extra rope onto her back.

"Rescue Team Leader to Rescue 3: I'm going to send Lara from the top. Send Chase back to us."

Felicity turned her attention to attaching herself to the rope and made her way to the top. The well was only a hundred yards from the cliff and Dean was already there, assessing the situation. "What are you thinking?" she asked, approaching him cautiously. It looked like the well had been covered by a wooden lid which had most likely rotted away and broken through when the child had run across it.

Dean shook his head. "Matty, I want you to keep holding onto that wood. We'll get you out soon, I promise," he called down the hole. He looked up at Felicity. "The sides are too unstable. We're going to have to go in without touching the sides or it's just going to come crumbling down on him. Water broke his fall, and he's clinging onto some wood – I assume from the covering, but he's cold, tired and scared." He reached for his radio. "Rescue Team Leader to Rescue 4: where are you?"

"_Just getting back to the trucks," _Chase replied.

"Hold up. We're going to need the rig sending up," Dean told him. "Flick, go give him a hand."

_Flick_? Felicity frowned, hurrying back to the cliff face, vaguely aware of Vince requesting a sit-rep. In twenty-seven years of life, she had never been called Flick. That wasn't to say she didn't have a nickname. Back in England, she had been 'Pops' – because all she drank on a night out were the girly alchopops. It wasn't a name she planned to share here, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about being called Flick.

"You ready to send that up," she yelled down to Chase, who was busy attaching the rig to the rope.

* * *

><p>"Flick, you're going down. You alright with that?" Dean asked her, as the finished hooking the rope up.<p>

Felicity nodded. "Makes more sense than trying to haul you and a wet kid out with skinny over here," she agreed, turning the torch on her helmet on.

"The sides are really unstable," Dean told her, rolling his eyes. "We'll lift you up, over and then lower you down. You get in _any_ trouble, you let me know."

Felicity nodded again as the two guys took her weight. Slowly, she found herself over the hole and pointed the torch down, keeping her beam of light on the top of a kid's head as she was lowered into the narrow hole. "You alright there, Matty?" she called down to the kid. "Matty?" The kid suddenly disappeared under the water. "Guys, hurry it up!" she yelled back up.

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><p><em>So there we go: the first chapter. Let me know what you think?<em>


	2. The Boy in the Well, pt 2

**But Who's Going To Save You?**

**Chapter 2: The Boy in the Well (pt 2)**

With absolutely no room to manoeuvre Felicity had no choice but to wait for Dean and Chase to completely lower her into the water. The water was deeper than she thought and she couldn't feel the kid anywhere. It was also icy cold – she was surprised the kid had held on as long as he had. "You're going to have to give me much more rope," she instructed the guys. "He's gone under."

"Be careful," Dean yelled down to her as the rope went completely slack.

Felicity took a deep breath and, unable to turn in the water, used her arms to force herself down. The water was clearer than she expected, and the torchlight picked up the sandy hair of the child just below her. With an extra push, she lunged down and hooked her feet under the child's arms and yanked him up to her arms, finally breaking the surface.

"I've got him. He's not breathing," she yelled up, starting CPR the best she could with the child in her arms. The rope instantly began pulling them both upwards. They were half way up when Matty coughed out a mouthful of water. Felicity was ready to let Dean know, when she suddenly went flying into the wall, dirt and rubble showering down around them.

"_Flick, are you alright?"_ Dean's voice came urgently through the radio.

Felicity ignored it, coughing out the dust. The bang had knocked out the torch on the top of her helmet and she could barely see anything in the darkness. "Matty?" she gently patted the child's face, grateful to discover he was still breathing.

"_Flick!"_

Felicity reached for her radio. "If this is some kind of newbie initiation, you guys have got crap timing," she said.

"_Ground gave away," _Dean explained. "_You're going to have to hang tight while we secure the rigging."_

"I'm not going anywhere, but I'm blind down here. Matty's breathing but unconscious, but there's no way I can tell how injured he is."

Topside, Dean was examining the situation. The ground was far too dry and was crumbling away around them. "Vince, you got any ideas?"

"_If you drag them up, you're just going to have the ground crumble in around them. Ideally, you need to set up some form of pulley directly over the wall."_

"Vince, that's not going to happen. We have nothing that's going to be strong enough to support them, and the ground won't support the rig," Dean responded, glancing at his brother. Holding onto Felicity and Matty wasn't going to be a problem, but whether or not the ground would hold them was. The ground around Chase was already sinking and he was trying very hard not to move. "Any other ideas."

"_Just hang on," _Vince instructed him.

"_Can I just point out, while my facebook profile states I like hanging out with my friends, this isn't quite what I had in mind,"_ Felicity's voice came through the radio, causing Dean to smile despite himself.

"_Okay, I have an idea,"_ Vince cut in. "_You need to get your hands on a back board. Slide it under the rope and then push it so the rope isn't dragging on the dirt. The others have just handed their patient over to the ambo's, so get one of them to brace the board on the ground to stop it tipping. Copy?"_

"Yeah, Vince. Copy," Dean agreed.

"_Dean, I heard that. I'm on my way up now," _Lara informed him.

Moments later, Lara was on sight, sliding the back brace under the rope. She managed to push it out a couple of inches, but stopped when the plastic began to bend. "It's not going to hold," Lara told Dean.

Dean shook his head. "I'd rather be filling in the paperwork for a lost backboard than a casualty." He reached for his radio. "Flick, we've got something rigged up, but it's not going to hold long. We're going to pull you up, and we're going to do it fast. Brace yourself."

Felicity huddled the child into her chest, wrapping her arms around his head the best she could, thankful things were moving. He was a big seven year old to start with and soaked through, she may have been clinging onto a teenager – who wasn't clinging back. "The sooner the better," she grunted into the radio, preparing herself.

Suddenly, she was being propelled upwards, dirt and stones showering down around her. They had just made it to the top when something above her snapped, sending her back into the wall. The next thing she knew, Lara was leaning over, pulling the unconscious child from her arms.

As soon as he was clear, Dean and Chase continued pulling Felicity out. Slowly, she clawed at the ground, then sensing it wasn't going to hold, scrambled as far away from the well as possible.

"You alright?" Chase asked her, ducking down beside her while Dean went to help Lara.

It took Felicity a moment to catch her breath, but she nodded. "Nothing a hot shower won't cure," she added, her teeth chattering as he checked her over. "And maybe some mouthwash. I'll be tasting dirt for weeks."

"Let's get this kid down to the ambos and we can go home," Chase said, standing and offering his hand.

"Please tell me an ambo isn't what I think it is?" Felicity asked, accepting Chase's hand and got to her feet with a groan.

"No, it's exactly that," Chase agreed, pointing down at Heidi, Jordan, and the awaiting ambulance.

* * *

><p>By the time they had made it back to base, Felicity was grateful it was nearly the end of shift. She was by no means unfit, but she was certainly feeling the effects of doing nothing over the past two weeks. Showered and wrapped in a towel, she sat down on a bench and lent back against the wall.<p>

She opened her eyes when the door opened and Chase walked in, clad only in his towel. "Oh, sorry," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged.

He frowned, watching her. "You alright?"

Felicity nodded. "Yeah, just tired and ready for my bed."

"You don't want to come to the pub for a few first?" he asked.

"I probably…" Felicity shook her head. "Actually, I won't say no to a drink right now."

Chase nodded, and made for the shower, before pausing and looking back at Felicity. "For the record, I may be skinny, but I'm stronger than I look."

Felicity laughed, shaking her head as she waited for Chase to close the door behind him. Quickly, she dressed back into her street clothes and pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail. She emerged from the changing rooms and joined the others where they were waiting, already drinking a beer. "No thanks," she said, pulling a face at the bottle Heidi was offering her.

"Really?" Heidi asked in surprise.

"Don't like the stuff. Never have," Felicity explained.

"Ah, come on Flick," Dean said, grinning. "You've got to mark surviving your first day."

Felicity gave him an unimpressed look, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Alright, what's with all this 'Flick' crap?"

Dean shrugged. "Felicity is far too long over the radio."

Felicity's eyebrow arched up in amusement. "I note a distinct lack of radio right now," she pointed out.

"You don't like it, Flickety-split?" Vince asked her.

"Flickety-split?" Felicity repeated. "Oh, you can _Flick off_ with that one."

"Sorry, babe," Lara said amidst the laughter as she patted Felicity's arm, somehow looking anything but apologetic as she tried not to laugh herself. "I think you're stuck with it."

"Ten minutes in, and I became Heidi-Ho," Heidi agreed.

Felicity sighed and took the beer off Heidi. "I guess I've had worse," she muttered before taking a swig of beer and pulling a face at the taste. "Oh God, this is awful."

"You will never guess who's just pulled up outside," Jordan exclaimed, appearing at the top of the stairs. "Cole Turner!"

"The rugby player?" Lara asked, her interest piqued.

"I wonder why he's here," Heidi asked, looking at Vince. "What are you trading this time?"

Vince shrugged. "Nothing to do with me."

Cole appeared behind Jordan and cleared his throat, causing him to leap out the way. "Actually, I'm here for Felicity."

"You know him?" Jordan asked in surprise.

"Um, everyone, this is my fiancé. Cole, this is everyone," Felicity muttered, awkwardly, hurrying over to greet the man in question. "What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"I thought we could celebrate your first day on a new job," Cole explained. "I have something for you." Without waiting for a response, he took Felicity's hand and led her downstairs.

Heidi looked at Jordan, who shrugged. Seconds later, they were charging down the stairs, the others behind them.

"What's going on?" Chase asked as Jordan hurried past him.

"Flick's only dating Cole Turner," Jordan called over his shoulder.

Chase narrowed his eyes and followed the group outside to where Felicity was staring in confusion at a car. A brand new Audi R8 Spyder.

"It's all yours," Cole whispered in her ear.

Felicity just stared in amazement at the car in front of her. She had no idea how much the little black car retailed at, but she was fairly certain it was expensive. Too expensive. "I thought we were just going to get a replacement Focus," she told him.

"That is a sweet ride," Jordan exclaimed, voicing his approval.

"You deserve much better than a Focus," Cole told her.

"But that is way more expensive than a Focus," Felicity pointed out.

The smile on Cole's face grew tight, as did the grip around her hand. "Are you implying I can't afford this?" he hissed at her.

Felicity quickly shook her head. "Not at all," she told him, trying to pull her hand free. "Cole, you're hurting me," she added.

Cole looked up, caught Chase watching them, and released Felicity's hand. "Sorry, baby. I just wanted to spoil you."

Felicity gave him a bright smile, masking the confusion in his behaviour. "Thank you, Cole. It's beautiful."

Cole returned the smile and glanced at his watch. "We should get going," he said announced, handing over the key.

"Oh, we're going to the pub," Heidi responded, hearing him. "You're more than welcome to join us."

"Thanks, but I have a table booked at Pearl," Cole told her, flashing her a smile.

The name meant nothing to Felicity, but it caused Heidi and Lara's mouths to drop open, and even Vince gave a low whistle of appreciation. "You got a table _there_?" he asked.

Cole nodded. "If I'd have known, I'd have made the reservation for a little later." He hurried over to the car, and leant over into the backseat, pulling out a clothing bag. "I picked out a dress for you," he said, handing it over to Felicity. He reached back and grabbed another bag. "Shoes, makeup and straighteners."

Felicity took the bag and made her way back into the station.

"What was that about?" Chase muttered at his brother as everyone else gathered around Cole and the car.

Dean shot him a sideways glance. "Oh, don't go there, Chase."

"Go where?" Chase demanded.

"She's engaged," Dean told him firmly.

"I was only asking," Chase objected. "It's not like that!"

Dean turned to face him, arms crossed. "You don't think she's pretty?"

"Yes, but-"

Dean gave him a pointed look.

"I'm not even bothering arguing this with you," Chase told him, turning his back and storming into back into the station. He headed over to his locker, ready to grab his things and get out of there, but stopped when he spotted Felicity staring at her hand, in front of the mirror.

She was dressed in a little black dress which showed off her legs. Her damp hair was hanging down her back in soft curls. But it was the distant expression in her eyes that caught his attention. Gently, he cleared his throat. She jumped, her brown eyes meeting his in the mirror. "Are you alight?"

Felicity gave him a bright smile. "Of course," she told him. "Have you seen that car out there?"

Chase nodded. "Yeah, it's a sweet ride," he agreed, slowly.

Felicity stared back and then suddenly pulled a hairdryer from her bag. "I should dry my hair. I don't want to keep Cole waiting."

"No, I guess not," Chase muttered.

* * *

><p><em>Wow! You guys have blown me away! Thank you. I have things planned for this - I'm writing out bits here and there - and I have a feeling this could be relatively long. Hopefully not a never ending story, because I already have one of those. (I swear my brain doesn't switch off!) To cut a very long story short, I don't have much free time - most of my writing takes place at work (so please don't tell my boss). As such, the best I can attempt is a chapter a week. You might get two out of me, but I'm not promising anything!<em>

_xxletgoxx - I don't know about fast, but I'm hoping for steady. And I intend on finishing it! Will that do :)_

_kit147 - I may have also acquired them, though quite possibly in a not-too-legal way. That being said, I may be after some answers soon :P I'm in two minds about Dean and Lara - I love the will they/won't they aspect of things but I'm not sure how I'd feel about them getting together. Either way - you're right. It will need to be somethign big!_

_jj87 - Thank you. I can say, at this point, I think I know where it's going... but knowing me, that might change!_

_retardedgazelle - Where abouts are you (if you don't mind me asking?) Yeah, it is annoying - and I never realised how much until I caught an episode on tv the other day. It really is loads!_

_humey - Thank you - and there will be more. I'm just trying to find their 'voice' - get a grip on the characters. In fact, there will be more in the next chapter!_

_AsandCastle103 - I will happily write more - I just hope you keep liking it!_

_- That was definitely my favourite part to write. It entertains me far too much on the show when they do!_

_Dominus Umbra - Most of what I write has an OC and I do try really hard not to fall in that dreaded Mary Sue category (though it happens to the best of us at times), but I think it's largely due to a lack of confidence in getting the cannon characters right. At least with an OC I have the ability to fall back on them when it all goes wrong!_


	3. The Couple in the Quarry, pt 1

**But Who's Going To Save You?**

**Chapter 3: The Couple in the Quarry (pt 1)**

Heidi rolled over and smacked the alarm, before rolling back into her original position, releasing a satisfied groan. Keeping her eyes closed, she snaked her hand over the bare chest next to her, grinning as an arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer. "I think I could stay here all day."

"Mmmmm," Jordan mumbled, still half asleep.

"We could, you know," Heidi said, finally opening her eyes to look at her sleeping boyfriend.

"Mmmm," Jordon moaned again, shifting slightly into the pillow to get a more comfortable position.

Heidi turned onto her side using her elbow to prop herself up. With her free arm, she poked Jordan in the chest. "Are you listening to me?"

"Not really," Jordon muttered.

"Well that's charming," Heidi said, pulling a face. Again, she poked Jordan's chest. "I said, we should stay here all day," she repeated, continuously poking.

Without opening his eyes, Jordan shot his hand over, grabbing Heidi's, before clutching it tightly near his heart. "Not with you poking me all day, I'm not," he mumbled.

Heidi sighed, sinking into the nook of his shoulder. "Fine."

"You're the one that set the alarm this early," he opened his eyes, staring down at the red hair. He leant down to it, his lips kissing the line of her parting. "Besides, you're always complaining that we can't chuck a sickie together because then everyone would know. If you didn't want to get out of bed, you shouldn't have bothered."

"I set it early because Michelle wanted us in early for a meeting." Heidi's eyes flew open as she sat bolt upright, head-butting Jordan in the process. "Shit!" she exclaimed. "The meeting."

Jordan gaped at her, mouth open. "Ow!" he said eventually, his tongue already tasting the coppery sensation of blood.

Heidi pulled a face as she leant over. "I'm sorry," she muttered, showering his face in kisses. Then she sat upright again. "We need to move or we're going to be late."

"I thought you set the alarm early so we _wouldn't _be late," Jordan asked, watching Heidi fly frantically around the room, trying to locate all her items of clothing.

"I set it early so we could get back to mine," she shot back at him, pulling her previous day's clothes on. "I need to get changed and brush my teeth. If you want to stay in bed longer, you want to let me have a drawer here," she told him, darting out of his room and into the bathroom.

Jordan watched her go, eyes wide.

* * *

><p>"So, Flick, how are we going to celebrate you surviving your first two weeks on the job?" Dean asked, perching on the edge of Felicity's desk.<p>

"We could start with you not calling me Flick," Felicity suggested. She looked up at him with a grin. "Failing that, a back massage would be good. I have a twinge right here," she added, pointing to a spot just below her shoulder blade.

"Heh, heh, heh," Dean muttered, picking up a pile of paperwork and using it to swot her.

"Would you settle for a drink in the pub later?" Lara suggested.

"Why not," Felicity shrugged. "Cole's got training, anyway." She yawned, popping her back. "That's assuming I don't fall asleep first. Remind me again why we're in so early?"

"It's because I have an important announcement," Michelle answered, appearing up the stairs, still with her bag over her arm. "Glad to see three of you can manage to make it in," she said, her lips forming a thin line.

"I'm here too," Chase called, before eventually appearing behind her – a sausage sandwich in one hand and a can of coke in the other.

"Only because I yelled down your ear for an hour," Dean muttered.

With a mouth full of sandwich, Chase shot him a dirty look and sat down at his desk beside Felicity. "Ah hint her ongs hu wong-"

"Chase, that's gross," Felicity squealed as a piece of chewed up sandwich went flying onto her desk.

He swallowed loudly, offering the sandwich over to her. "Want some?"

"Oh hell yeah," Felicity nodded, swiping the sandwich from him – ignoring his amazed stare – and took an enormous bite.

"Now that's gross," Dean muttered to Lara, Lara nodding her agreement.

"So what is this meeting about?" Chase asked, snatchingthe sandwich back from Felicity.

Michelle dropped her bag off in her office and returned to the others. "Important enough to wait for Heidi and Jordan. I don't want to have to repeat myself. Where are they?"

"It's going to have to wait until later," announced Vince, appearing from seemingly nowhere, his earpiece already in place. "The dodo's are out early today."

"The sun is barely up," Lara noted, rolling her eyes, already heading for the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Vince we're here, but there are a half dozen abandoned quarry lakes. Any clue as to which one they're in?" Dean asked, as the four of them scanned the area.<p>

"It's cold out," Lara muttered, rubbing her arms. "Why would someone be daft enough to go swimming in this?"

Felicity pulled a face – the only one of the three not wearing a jacket. "Cold? You don't know the meaning of cold. I was talking to my sister yesterday – this may be cold for you, but back in in England it's colder, wetter and summer." She smiled, her eyes closed as she angled her face up to the sun. "This is blissful."

"Flick, you're not going to find anyone up there," Dean chided her. "Vince doesn't have a clue where they are. Lara, you're with me. Chase, you and Flick head that way."

"How on earth did you manage when I wasn't here?" Felicity grumbled after they had parted ways.

"Huh?" Chase asked, giving her a puzzled look.

"Your brother and Lara," Felicity shrugged, her eyes scanning the artificial lake in front of her.

"Dean and Lara?" Chase repeated. "Wait, you think they're… together?"

Felicity's head snapped back to him. "You mean they're not? Really?"

"Have you actually watched them together?" Chase asked, a wide grin on his face. They moved on to the next lake.

"Yeah," Felicity confirmed. "This is the first time I've not been stuck with them. If it wasn't for the fact you lived with him, I would have thought they'd been married a few years. Hell, I thought they _were_ married until I found that one out." She frowned. "They're really not together?"

Chase shook his head, laughing. "I can't wait to tell Dean-"

Felicity leant over and swiped at his arm. "You will be doing no such thing," she told him.

"We'll see," Chase started, but stopped, spotting something ahead of them. "There – in the water."

"Chase, they're face down," Felicity realised. Together, they broke into a run, charging down what was once the gravel road down into the quarry pit, Chase radioing it in to his brother. At the bottom, they dumped their bags and kits to one side and dove into the water.

Chase was first to reach the two women, wearing only bikinis, Felicity only a fraction behind. As soon as his hand touched the shoulder of the closest woman, she whirled around in the water, punching his chin with a squeal.

"What the hell is going on?" the second woman yelled at them.

"We thought you were drowning," Felicity told them, treading water.

"Well you thought wrong, you freak," the woman shot back at her.

"There's no need for that," Chase told her.

"What the hell possessed you to sneak up on us like that?" the first woman demanded, glaring at Chase.

"Enough," Felicity snapped at her. "Get out of the water, now."

"We're not going anywhere," the first woman retorted angrily.

"That's fine," Felicity informed her. "You stay here. I'm getting out, getting warm, then calling the police to arrest your trespassing asses." She turned and started swimming to the shore.

"Wait up," one of the women called after her.

Felicity ignored her, swimming straight for Dean and Lara who were already waiting for them at the edge, blankets ready.

"Alright, what's going on here?" Dean asked the first woman who had followed Felicity out.

"Kady and I were swimming," she told him. "And then these two idiots decided to attack us."

"Exactly as Marcie tells it," Kady nodded, getting out of the water and accepting a blanket.

"It never occurred to you to use a swimming pool?" Lara asked.

Kady shook her head. "Needed to be here."

"Yeah," Marcie agreed. "We read an article on the internet. The water's supposed to be full of nutrients from the mined rocks, and the cold water is supposed to tighten skin _and_ help you lose 16 pounds!"

"There's a reason why the quarry has a giant fence around it," Felicity pointed out, adding a muttered 'moron' under her breath.

"Flick, why don't you and Chase go dry off," Dean suggested, giving her a disapproving look.

* * *

><p>"What happened to you two?" Jordan asked, as Chase and Felicity exited the patrol vehicle.<p>

"We decided to lose 16 pounds each," Felicity muttered dryly, manoeuvring past him.

Jordan looked at Chase in bewilderment. "Am I supposed to understand what that means?"

"You would if you turned up to work on time," Dean answered for Chase, as Chace gritted his teeth in a grimace before shooting his friend an apologetic look.

It didn't take Felicity and Chase to shower and change and sit at their desks. Felicity, who was supposed to be writing up her report was busy texting away to Cole, a stupid grin on her face.

"You look happier," Chase muttered, glancing up from his computer.

"Date night," Felicity told him. "It feels like all I've done since I've got here is go out to some random club with Cole _and_ his team mates. Which is nice, don't get me wrong, but I'm looking forward to a little 'us' time." She glanced up, spotting Michelle and Vince heading over and put her phone down, relaxing into the chair.

"So what's this big announcement?" Heidi asked. "Lifeblood are suddenly being reinstated?"

Michelle sighed, folding her arms. "They might as well be. It's about the helicopters."

Heidi's face fell. "Don't tell me they're retaining control over them?"

"Hardly," Vince scoffed.

"No," Michelle confirmed. "But they have had an effect on them. After their disastrous record of engine and machine checks, or lack thereof, the minister, in her infinite wisdom, has decided that they now need to be checked every two weeks, with a mini check before each shift."

"And how does that affect us?" Dean asked.

"Budgets have already been set and they can't change them until the start of the next financial year," Michelle sighed.

"What does that mean?" Jordan asked, pulling a face.

"It means that we're going to have to ground and sell one of the choppers," Vince explained.

"And even then, it leaves us about four thousand short on what they're asking for," Michelle added. "We may have to sell a second."

There was a stunned silence as all six members of the rescue team stared at Michelle and Vince, processing the information. "That's the most ridiculous thing to come out of this government," Dean finally declared, breaking the silence. "How do they expect us to save lives properly when they are compromising our efforts?"

"Oh don't worry, I asked the minister the same question," Michelle assured him. "I may have well as been talking to the wall for all the good it did."

"I'm failing to see the problem," Felicity said, frowning.

"The problem is, if they take the choppers away, then there are going to be people we can't save," Heidi exclaimed.

"Well I get that," Felicity told her, watching her teammates stare at her like she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. "But I fail to see how a lack of money is causing such a concern."

"Because if we don't have the money, we can't pay for the maintenance," Michelle explained in exasperation.

Felicity sighed, leaning forward in her chair. "Okay, let me put it like this. Back in England we have volunteer organisations which are funded by the government, but like this government, never give as much money as we like. So we raise the money ourselves. Hell, I have friends in the south who, over a couple of years, managed to raise enough money for a brand new boat for the coastguard. Are you seriously telling me that you've never heard of an organisation doing that?"

"We'd have to have the money by the end of the month," Michelle pointed out. "We don't have a couple of years."

"Any idea how to raise four grand in three weeks?" Jordan asked her.

Felicity slumped back into her chair, shaking her head.

"It was a good idea, babe," Lara told her, sympathetically, patting her knee.

"Flick's got a point," Heidi announced suddenly. "I'm not losing my helicopter without a fight. Why can't we raise the money? We could have a kissing booth," she suggested, grinning at Jordan.

"The point of a kissing booth is to raise money by having someone kiss you," Vince told her. "Not to pay you lot to eat each other all day."

"Vince, that's not a bad idea," Felicity said, eyes wide.

"Flick, no one is going to pay to watch those two morons–"

"Hey!" Heidi objected, shooting a glare at Vince.

"Eating. A bake sale. That's a start!" Felicity clarified, laughing at Heidi who was now pouting.

Michelle nodded, slowly. "Have an open day. Get the public in. Explain the situation. We can get activities organised – get them climbing the wall. Face painting for the kids."

"I know someone who has a bouncy castle," Vince added.

"You reckon we can make the money in time?" Chase asked, dubiously.

Heidi shrugged. "I don't know – but I'm going to try."

* * *

><p><em>There's something about this chapter I don't like. But after staring at it all weekend, I can't put my finger on it. So I'm posting it anyway and hoping for the best!<em>

_Asha331 - I'm happy you like! Bless Chase, I love him too - nearly as much as Vince!_

_Miley - I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long! After this chapter, I hope I haven't put you off!_

_retardedgazelle - I'm just down the road from you in Hull! I've given up watching them on TV. I've downloaded them until the box sets eventually get released over here!_

_kit147 - My intention is to have Chase 'grow' a little. I thought they were getting there after his visit to the psychiatrist, but then... nothing._


	4. The Couple in the Quarry, pt 2

_Righto, mild season 3 references, but if you've not seen them, I don't think you'll notice them!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going to Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 4: The Couple in the Quarry (pt 2)**

"I know Angry Birds is more fun, but if you don't put that away and finish your report, Vince will have you cleaning ropes with Jordan and Heidi," Chase muttered at Felicity, watching as her fingers flew over the iPhone's display.

Felicity glanced over at Chase and pulled a face. "I don't have Angry Birds on my phone, actually. I'm sending texts to my friends back in England asking for money raising suggestions."

"Aren't they twelve hours behind us, or something?" Chase asked, skeptically.

"Ten," Felicity replied, checking the clock. "Which would explain why no one is replying." She shrugged and continued texting. "Oh well."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Chase muttered, returning his attention to the computer.

"That's fine, I won't," Felicity agreed.

"Well that's good to hear," Dean told her, his presence causing a shadow to fall over Felicity's phone screen.

Felicity slowly placed the phone on the desk and grinned sheepishly up at Dean. "It was work related," she offered.

"That's good to hear," said Dean. "However, it seems your friends from this morning are back in the quarry. So how about you and Chase head on over there and get them out?"

"Ah, what've I done?" Chase moaned.

Dean shot him a look. "Nothing, but I can swap you with Jordan if you want?"

"The quarry? Sounds like fun?" Chase responded, forcing a smile as he stood.

"Are you not coming?" Felicity asked, making her way to the stairs.

"Oh, I think you two can handle this," Dean told her with a grin, waving her goodbye.

"Where are you two going?" Jordan asked as they hurried past him to the truck.

"To lose another 16 pounds," Felicity informed him, dryly, jumping in the passenger seat.

"That was a bit mean," Lara laughed as Dean sat back down.

Dean grinned, holding his phone up. "I got a heads up from Zoe. They're just messing around in the water and I told her I would send someone."

"Zoe, as in the police officer?" Lara questioned, frowning. "Are you seeing her?"

Dean shrugged. "I'm about to ask her out, so we shall see."

* * *

><p>It didn't take them too long to arrive back at the quarry, the gates already open and waiting for them. Chase pulled in, keeping his speed down as they bounced over the large potholes. "I'm sure this is a matter for the police," Felicity grumbled to Chase as she clung onto the handle above the door for support.<p>

"You're probably right," Chase agreed. "Not that I'm complaining. I hate writing the reports. It's almost as bad as washing the trucks."

"I've got to admit, writing the reports is not my favourite part of the job," Felicity nodded, peering down into a lake as they passed. "Never was."

"Do you think we can do it?" Chase asked, glancing over at her. "Raise the money, I mean."

Felicity sat chewing at her lip before shaking her head. "If we had six months, yes. But it's going to take more than a bouncy castle and some cakes to raise four grand. I keep doing the maths in my head. I doubt more than a couple of hundred people will come to this open day and they'd need to spend at least $20 each. For a cake and some paint? I don't think so."

"So it's a lost cause?"

Felicity shook her head, firmly. "Hardly. We need to come up with something better. My mind keeps going to sponsored events, like sponsored walks, but we have to work at the same time – we can hardly be somewhere wandering around in the country when a call comes in. I was thinking-"

Felicity was cut off before she could voice her suggestion when Chase slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt on the loose gravel. In front of the truck, a look of sheer panic on her face, wearing only a lime green bikini, was Kady. Chase and Felicity leapt out of the truck and ran over. "What happened, Kady?" Chase demanded. "Where's Marcie?"

"In the water," Kady sobbed, pointing over at the nearest lake. "She dove in and never came back up."

Felicity and Chase glanced at each other, and sensing what the other was thinking, nodded. While Chase ran to the back of the van pulling out a snorkel and goggles, Felicity was straight on the radio.

"Rescue Portable 6 to Rescue Base. Vince, you there?"

"_Rescue Portable 6 from Rescue Base. I'm here, Flick. What's up?"_

"We've got a patient underwater," Felicity explained, watching as Chase darted down the slope, shedding himself of his jacket before wading into the water. "Chase is going in now. I'm going to-"

With a squeal of horror, Kady ran down the slope, skidded on the rocks and tumbled. She rolled over until she hit the bottom where she came to a stop. Felicity let go of her radio and charged to the back of the truck, grabbed her rucksack and ran after Kady.

"_Rescue Portable 6 – Flick – Sit-rep."_

"Vince, Kady took off after Chase and fell," Felicity told him, trying to keep her balance as she hurried down. She gave the water a quick glance. "Chase is still in the water looking for Marcie." Finally making it to Kady, she turned her over, thankful to see she was still breathing. "Kady is breathing but unconscious."

"_Flick__, I've got Dean and Lara on the way. They're about fifteen minutes out. Ambos should be there with you about then too."_

Flick nodded, more to herself, as she checked Kady over. Short of a few cuts and bruises, the girl looked like she would be fine. She pulled a blanket out from the backpack and wrapped it around her patient. Yes, she had some lacerations that needed dressing, but she was stable. Felicity turned her attention to the water. For a few moments, there was nothing, then Chase broke the surface, Marcie in his arms.

Felicity hurried in to meet him, helping him carry her to the ground. "She's not breathing," Chase told her.

Felicity nodded, pushing five breaths in before starting the chest compressions. "Dean and Lara here soon with ambulance," she grunted.

"_Flic__k – sit-rep," _Vince's voice broke through the radio.

While Felicity continued with the CPR, Chase pulled the radio from her. "Rescue Portable 4, to Rescue Base. We've got Marcie out of the water. Felicity is doing CPR now. I'm gonna grab the AED now."

He reached over for the automated external defibrillator – he had brought down there with him and began drying off Marcie as best he could before attaching the pads to Marcie's chest, working around Felicity. "She's in VF," he told Felicity.

Felicity nodded, allowing him to shock the patient then leant over and continued with the compressions when the shock had no effect.

"Clear," Chase barked.

Another shock ran through Marcie. This time, she coughed, spluttering up water. "Thank god," Felicity managed through her panting. She waited for Chase to pull the pads from the machine and together they rolled Marcie over to help clear her throat.

While Chase updated Vince, Felicity grabbed the blanket Chase had been using to dry Marcie off and wrapped it around her. She slumped down and allowed herself a moment to take a breath, pushing her fringe from her eyes. "Chase, where's Kady?" she asked, suddenly realising the woman wasn't where she left her. She spun around, looking for Kady, spotting her near the top of the slope, staggering too close to a thirty foot drop for Felicity's liking.

Leaving Chase with Marcie, Felicity charged up the slope, ignoring the burn in her thighs as her legs protested about her running uphill with wet trousers. Thankfully, as she reached the top, Lara and Dean had already arrived – Lara leading Kady over to her truck.

"You missed the party," Felicity told them, breathing heavily. "No fair taking the credit."

Dean shook his head, a small smile threatening to appear. "Lara, you stay with this patient. I'll give Flick and Chase a hand carrying the other up." He grabbed the stretcher and headed back down to Chase with Felicity.

* * *

><p>In the end, Felicity had to rain check on the trip to the pub, opting instead to take a longer shower. Finally, she was waiting outside for Cole, her legs aching – grateful that there would be no heels involved on her date.<p>

"You know, I don't think you're wearing the right outfit to be working a corner," Chase pointed out as he sat on the wall behind her, munching on a portion of fish and chips.

"We're going to the fair," Felicity told him, rolling her eyes. She sighed and sat down on the wall next to him, grabbing a handful of chips. "Cole's just running late – his practice ran over."

Chase watched as Felicity took a few more chips. "I asked if you wanted a portion. I even offered to pay."

Felicity grinned. "But they taste so much better when they're not your own."

Chase sighed and placed the chips on the wall between them. "Help yourself." He frowned. "The fair? Mr Superstar could take you anywhere and he's taking you to the fair?"

"I wish you wouldn't call him that," Felicity told him. "And for the record, _I_ want to go to the fair. The fancy restaurants and the clubs – they're nice, but they're not really me. Tonight was my choice."

"But the fair?" Chase repeated, pulling a face.

Felicity shrugged. "I want to stuff my face with cotton candy while carrying around a giant tacky teddy bear I've won from knocking all the coconuts over, then enjoy twenty minutes on a Ferris Wheel where no one can disturb us." She grabbed another chip. "And most importantly, I want to be able to wander around wearing shorts and flip flops, my hair tied back, and without a layer of makeup on."

Chase stuffed his own handful of chips in his mouth and watched her as she stared at her bare toes. He swallowed quickly, nearly choking. "I'll take you," he told her. "As mates, of course," he added quickly as she turned to stare at him. For a moment, his heart soared as she started to nod. And then it sank just as quickly when she stood up, Cole's matching red Audi pulling up in front of them.

"Sorry I'm late, babe," Cole apologised, dashing over to kiss her. He stepped back and eyed his girlfriend from head to toe. "You're not wearing that, are you?"

Seeing the redness flood Felicity's cheeks as she glanced down at herself, Chase stood up. "Cole," he greeted him, coolly.

"Chase," Cole returned, frowning at him.

"I didn't think we needed to get dressed up for the fair," Felicity told him, apologetically.

"Fair? What fair?" Cole asked, surprised. "I'm on about Gary's 30th. We're off for sushi then on to Tiger Bar."

Confused, Felicity took a step back. "We're going to the fair tonight, remember?" she asked him.

"I don't think so," Cole corrected her, glancing at his watch. He let out a frustrated breath. "I thought you would have at least cleaned yourself up and had your hair ready. Now we're going to be late while we wait for you to sort yourself out."

Felicity blinked, wracking her brain to remember what had been said about a birthday party. Admittedly, at this point, all the players seemed to blur into one player – there was always something going on each night – but no, she was certain that she wouldn't have gotten this excited about going to the fair otherwise. "Are you sure we weren't supposed to go to the fair tonight?"

Cole shook his head impatiently. "I do worry about your memory these days," he told her. "Maybe we should get you an appointment with a doctor."

"Maybe you did say something. I'm sorry – I must have gotten my days confused," Felicity muttered.

"You been going on about it all day," Chase jumped in. "I don't think you have."

Cole turned to Chase, his eyes narrowed. "Well thank you for keeping an eye on my fiancé's diary, but maybe date night this week was a night at an exclusive sushi bar then a night out in a VIP club."

"I'm sorry," Felicity quickly interjected. "Chase, my memory's awful. I must have gotten it wrong. Come on, Cole. I can do my makeup and put my hair up in the car. We'll only be a few minutes late."

Cole turned back to Felicity. "We'll be later than a few minutes. You're not doing your hair in the car – I don't spend a fortune on it every month for you to just tie it back."

"I can be quick," Felicity promised. "I'll see you tomorrow, Chase," she added, trying to pull Cole to the car.

Cole threw one last evil glare at Chase and then followed after her. "What was all that about?" Cole demanded as soon as the doors on the car closed.

Felicity shook her head. "Sorry," she apologised. "I've been away with the faeries. It looks like Rescue needs to raise four grand by the end of the month or we lose two helicopters."

"Have a raffle," Cole shrugged.

"We have three weeks – it's not nearly enough time to rustle up some decent prizes," Felicity sighed.

"So raffle me off," Cole suggested.

Felicity shot him a sideways glance and then burst out laughing. When he didn't join her, she stopped, frowning. "You?"

Cole nodded. "Win a date with Cole Turner. That ought to raise heaps."

"You'd do that?" Felicity asked him, surprised at his generosity.

"I'll even get Lucinda to help," he nodded. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"

Felicity quickly shook her head. "Cole that would be brilliant. Who's Lucinda?"

"You've met her before," Cole frowned. "She's my PR agent. This will be up her street."

Felicity nodded, her attention momentarily distracted by her phone beeping. As she began reading the messages from her friends back home, she suddenly found herself grinning at two little words. Raising the money had the potential to become fun.

* * *

><p><em>Well, after a truely pants week at work (work decided they could only afford to give me three quarters of my wage - the joy!) I decided that I was only going to do three quarters of the work. So y'all get an extra chapter. <em>

_Oh - and a question. What on earth is Lachie short for? (I realise that's a bit random, and will only make sense if you've seen this week's Rescue, but I've not come across that name before!)_

_In A Rush - Thank you! I'm hoping so - what would you do to raise some money?_

_Asha331 - I'm glad you said. I knew something was missing, but I couldn't put my finger on it, so I shall work on that!_

_Miss Deeds - Some of them are easier (Vince) than others (Chase), so thank you. And I had a gander at your favourite stories... I will share this - there are a few which feature on the same board as what I normally wrote on, so it is possible you've read something I've written in the past._

_retardedgazelle - Aw, thank you! I'm glad I haven't put you off yet!_


	5. Never Trust a Fiery

**But Who's Going To Save You?**

**Chapter 5: Never Make a Deal with a Fiery**

Felicity bounded up the stairs, so quickly, she had to duck under the two cups of coffee Dean was carrying for himself and Lara. "Geeze, Flick. Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Felicity called over her shoulder, already halfway across the room. She came to a stop – with a little jump – right in front of Vince and beamed up at him.

Vince, his own mug of coffee hallway to his lips, narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What do you want, Flickety-Split?"

"Aside from you to stop calling me a name that reminds of a My Little Pony I used to play with when I was six, a name," Felicity told him.

"Joe Bloggs," Vince retorted.

"Thanks," Felicity told him, and turned.

"Alright, whose name?" Vince called after her, rolling his eyes.

Felicity turned back, a grin on her face as she wrapped her arm around the Station Coordinator. "Well," she started. "I have an idea, but the thing is I need some help with it. But unfortunately I need to speak to a fiery, so, in your little book of contacts, who would be most likely to help me, bearing in mind my only payment would be this award winning smile?"

Vince mock frowned. "You won an award for that?"

"No, but I should, don't you think?" she asked, blinking up at him.

"Jake Hudson," he grunted. "Show some leg, don't wear a Rescue uniform and he's your man. And whatever you do, get it in writing. Fierys indeed. What do you want with them?"

"Their hoses," she grinned mischievously, earning a bark of laughter. "And where would I find them? As in, a map would be helpful."

Vince shook his head. "Take one of this lot. And your uniform in case you get a shout." He gazed down at her. "You're not abandoning us, are you?"

"Nope," Felicity assured him. "As much as being called Flick annoys me, I'm happy here." She gave him a finger wave and made her way back to her desk.

"So how was the club?" Chase asked her as she sat down.

"Not nearly as good as the sushi was," she informed him, lightly. "Are you doing anything important?" she asked him.

Chase shrugged. "Re-writing my notes. Michelle apparently can't read it."

Felicity leant over, staring at the page. "I can see why. It looks like two spiders did the waltz across the page. Fancy doing me a favour?"

"Only if you write the notes up for me," he shrugged.

"Only if you dictate them to me, because there aren't enough hours in a shift to decipher that," Felicity agreed.

"Deal," Chase nodded.

Behind then Heidi laughed. "She could have you doing anything, Chase. You should have asked what she wanted first."

Warily, Chase looked over at Felicity. "What do you want me doing?"

"I volunteer at a ballet school. We're a member down and need someone to fill in for the fairy in the Nutcracker." She stood, keeping her face straight as horror washed over Chase's. "Come on, we can go find the pink tights now."

"Pink tights?" Chase choked. "I'm not wearing tights."

"Too late – you already agreed!" Heidi cackled, catching the wink from Felicity.

"Don't worry," Felicity assured him, leading down the stairs. "It's a bunch of six year olds, so you don't have to be able to dance." She got to the door of the changing room, waited for Chase to catch her up, and then, unable to keep her face straight any longer, burst out laughing.

"Oh, real funny!" Chase exclaimed. "Where are we going, really?"

Felicity dove into her locker, pulling out the baby blue summer dress she had come to work in. Quickly, her back to Chase, she pulled her Rescue shirt off and slipped the dress on over her head, and then wriggled out of her trousers. "We're going to see a man about a hose," she told him, turning back to him. "What do you think?"

"You look," Chase frowned. "Pretty."

Felicity sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to resort to this," she muttered. She reached up and pulled her hair out of her ponytail, fluffing it out. "But this is the best I'm going to get, and if it means we get to save our helicopters, than it's worth it." She frowned. "Just do me a favour and don't tell Cole."

"Of course not," Chase muttered, a little bewildered, following her out to the Rescue car. "Seriously, where are we going?"

"I don't care," Jordan announced, waiting by the car. "But I'm coming with you."

"Not that I mind you coming," Felicity told him. "But Vince said I could only steal one person. I don't want him getting pissed off at you."

Jordan quickly shook his head. "Right now, I'm more scared of pissing of Heidi. I can handle Vince."

Felicity walked into the firehouse – Chase and Jordan were parked up and waiting around the corner, out of sight – to find a collection of men sat around a large screen television cheering on those who were playing some form of racing game.

"Man, I wish we'd had one of those back at my station," Felicity exclaimed, loudly.

Collectively, the group turned, letting out all manner of whistles, hooting and cat calls. "Back at your station?" one of them asked.

Felicity nodded. "Fire and Rescue, Leeds. Which I believe makes me something of a sister."

"Oh, you're no sister," another disagreed with a flirty grin.

"An engaged sister," Felicity informed him, holding her ring up.

"Settle down," a third man barked at the disappointed calls. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Well, I need some help – from one fiery to another – and I've been told the person I need to speak to is Jake Hudson."

The third man smiled, offering his hand. "That would be me. What do you need?"

Felicity returned the grin, rubbing her hands together. "Well, now that you ask..."

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Felicity was climbing into the back of the truck, having been relegated from the front passenger seat by Jordan. "All done," she beamed.<p>

"And _now_ are you going to tell us what you want with the fierys?" Chase asked, turning around in his seat to face her.

Felicity shook her head. "Not until we get back to base." She leant forward, resting an elbow on each of the seats and turned her attention on Jordan. "Now, why do you think you're going to piss Heidi off?"

Jordan sighed and slumped into his seat. "I can't tell you."

"Did you leave the toilet seat up?" Felicity asked him.

Jordan's head whipped around to stare at her. "What makes you say that?" he asked, through Chase's laughter.

"It was something that annoyed me – still annoys me – with Cole," she shrugged, slightly confused at the reaction she was getting from both guys.

"We were joking," Chase just about managed to get out amongst his peals of laughter.

This time, both Jordan and Felicity gave him a puzzled look. "Joking about what?" Jordan demanded.

"We've had Felicity convinced that you and Heidi are a thing," Chase told him, without remorse.

"That was a joke?" Felicity exclaimed. "Oh come on, wind up the newbie jokes should be sending them to the wrong place or buckets of water propped over doors. Not who is dating or not dating who."

"I know," Chase laughed. "But seeing you knock on every door was funny."

"I'm sorry," Felicity sighed, glancing back at Jordan. "I haven't been avoiding you because I have a problem with you. Him," she jabbed her thumb at Chase. "His brother and Lara told me you and Heidi were at it like rabbits all the time."

"Uh, yeah, that's not a problem," Jordan muttered, refusing to look her in her eyes.

Felicity stared at him thoughtfully. "Right you," she said, turning to Chase. "You can go get me a drink for that."

"Aw, what?" Chase asked, sobering up. "That's hardly fair."

"Go!" Felicity demanded, pointing at a shop down the street. "And it had best be chilled," she added as Chase slunk out of the car. "You need to work on your poker face," she told Jordan.

"There's nothing going on between me and Heidi!" he told her.

"Of course not," Felicity agreed, patting his shoulder. "How about we go on the theory that this is still part of Chase's genius wind up. So what did you do?"

Jordan stared at her, weighing his options and finally sighed. "For the record, if Heidi finds out you know, she _will_ kill me. She's got this theory Michelle will transfer one of us."

"Seriously?" Chase exclaimed.

Jordan turned slowly in his seat, finding his friend standing behind him, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "I thought you were getting a drink."

"Forgot my money," Chase shrugged, grinning like an idiot. "How the hell did I not see that one?"

"Yeah, I'm confused," Felicity sighed. She paused, thinking. "So why did Heidi want a night _and_ a morning off for both of you?"

Jordan sighed, sinking into his seat. "We told Vince we were going to a midnight viewing of the latest Harry Potter with a bunch of mates. He seemed to buy it." He closed his eyes, groaning. "I am a dead man."

"We're not going to say anything," Felicity assured him.

"Speak for yourself," Chase laughed.

Jordan's eyes opened into a scowl. "You owe me. Your shoulder?"

Chase stared back and then sighed in resignation. "Yeah, fine." He hurried around and got back in the car. "I'm not saying anything."

Felicity glanced between them. "Do I even want to know?" she asked, suspecting little more than a prank that had made Chase look like a prat.

"Nah," Jordan told her after sharing a look with Chase.

"So why is Heidi pissed at you?" she asked, shrugging. "What did you do?"

"She wants a drawer. And to leave a toothbrush at mine."

Felicity glanced at Chase who looked like he was trying as hard as she was not to laugh. "So what's the problem, mate?" Chase asked.

"Well I don't know if it's too early for that. We've only been seeing each other a few weeks," he explained, staring glumly at the glove box.

"Did she just come out with it?" Felicity asked. "You know, demand a drawer?"

Jordan shook his head. "Yesterday morning we were late because we had to go back to hers so she could get dressed." Hearing Chase's snickering, he reached over and back-slapped his arm. "Not like that, you nong." He sighed and glanced back at Felicity. "She mentioned it would be easier if she had a drawer there."

"But she did just demand a drawer?" Felicity repeated.

"No," Jordan replied.

"I have no idea what a nong is," Felicity informed him. "But I'm beginning to suspect you are also one. If she didn't flat out ask for one, she's probably not expecting one. Does it matter if she has one anyway?"

"Not really," he shrugged.

"So clear a drawer out and offer it her. It's not like you're moving in with her," Chase told him with a roll of his eyes.

"_Rescue Base to Rescue 6 Portable,"_ Vince's voice boomed through the radio, startling all three of them.

Felicity leant forward and snatched the radio off the dash. "Go ahead, Vince."

"_Flick, out of curiousity, do they still teach you pommies to count?"_

"All the way to a hundred," Felicity shot back.

"_Great. Start counting."_

Felicity looked at the two guys in the car with her, who just shrugged their shoulders. "Okay," she muttered. "One. Two-"

"_And stop there. Now, tell me how many morons you have in the car with you?"_

* * *

><p>"You had better have a good explanation," Vince informed the three of them as they returned to base.<p>

Felicity pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened up the Voice Memo Application.

"_Are you really recording this_?" Jake Hudson's voice came clearly through the little speakers on the iPhone.

"_Hell yes,"_ Felicity responded. _"Now, as agreed."_

Jake emitted a defeatist sigh. "_Fine. You can use the station and the grounds next Saturday."_

"And this is a good explanation?" Vince asked, his arms folded, as Felicity hit the pause button.

"Oh yes," Felicity agreed, aware that she had drawn a crowd.

"You went to borrow a station off the fierys when we have our own?" Vince continued. "Do you have any idea how much you're going to owe them? I am going to be trading them BA's and lord knows what other gear for a decade."

Felicity shook her head and held the phone up, pressing play.

"_And?"_ Felicity pressed.

"_And, you can use the hoses, the water, and we'll even throw in a barbie. Hell, I'll even ask the guys if they want to help too – is that alright?" _Jake asked. There was a long pause. "_Fine. This will only cost you twenty percent-"_

"_Ten,"_ Felicity interjected.

"Ten_ per cent of whatever you take over four grand, a signed Roosters shirt and you have to wash a truck."_

"_Ah, we never agreed on that," _Felicity told him. _"However, that's fine. I will wash a truck for you."_

"How the bloody hell did you wangle that from Jakey-boy?" Vince asked in amazement. "Did you take your clothes off?"

Felicity shook her head. "Followed your advice and took my uniform off though." She grinned and let Vince hear the rest of the recording.

"_You drive a hard bargain. I'm glad to see they taught you well. So what's this fundraising for? Bit odd for your holidays."_

"_Whoever said I was on my holiday?" _Felicity asked him.

"_You said you were Fire and Rescue," _Jake replied sounding slightly confused.

"_I was,"_ Felicity agreed. _"Then I emigrated. Now it's just Rescue."_

"_You're Rescue?"_ Jake spluttered. _"Did Marchello put you up to this?"_

Dean gave Vince a grin. "I think we've just earned ourselves an extra point," he declared, nodding at Jordan who grabbed a whiteboard from the side.

Vince, staring long and hard at Felicity. "Flickety-split," he said, slowly. "What have you just agreed to?"

Felicity settled down into Vince's chair, putting her feet up on his desk. "That, Vince, would be a charity carwash held at the fire station, complete with barbeque – Fire providing the water and the hoses, and clearing up the mess. Charge $10 per car. Cakes, face paint. Oh," the smile went wider. "And a celebrity raffle with to win a date with one Cole Turner, which, thanks to Cole, will all be publicised at no charge to Rescue."

Michelle cocked her head. "Have you ever considered a job in PR?"

Felicity shook her head. "Hell no! I think that would be my idea of hell."

"Either way, that's a really good idea," Michelle told her.

"They weren't my ideas," she frowned. "Well, maybe the bake sale was. But the rest came from other sources. Cole came up with the date idea."

"Righto, everybody can get back to work now," Vince announced. "Flick, I think there's some cars downstairs that need some washing. And take Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee with you," he added, pointing at Chase and Jordan. "Call it practice."

The small crowd dispersed. "Washing cars?" Chase moaned as he and Felicity headed downstairs, Jordan right behind them.

"I didn't see you coming up with anything better," Felicity shot back at him.

"Hey, Jordan," Heidi called after them.

"I'll catch you up," Jordan told Chase and Felicity. He turned back to Heidi. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Heidi told him. "I just wanted to see what you were doing later."

"Actually I'm going to be clearing out a drawer." Seeing Heidi's puzzlement, he smiled sheepishly. "You know, for you to leave some things at mine – if you wanted to, that is?"

Heidi blinked. "For real?" At Jordan's nod, she beamed, taking a step towards him, then paused. "Later," she promised.

* * *

><p><em>Well, when I thought life couldn't get any worse, I heard the news about Rescue. I'm heartbroken. Anyway, work isn't improving and it looks like there may well be a second chapter again this week (you can take that as good news or bad news - it's up to you). Either way, I must apologise for this chapter. I had something akin to an epiphany mid-way though, so you will just have to go with it. That and I will attempt to make it better in the next chapters! I think it will also result in this story being longer than I originally thought (again, that's up to you on the good newsbad news debate!)_

_Miss Deeds - LOL, Cole's turned into a bit of a tool - which was never my original plan. There is some Lara and Dean coming up in the next chapter. Hopefully I will have caught the characters right! As for Chase, I think you're right. Short of having a moment of realisation that he's living in his brother's shadow, they've really done nothing with him!_

_SarahSoph - Thank you! And it's alright if you don't like Cole (I don't anymore!) Fundraising action in the next chapter, which is hopefully more exciting than this chapter! I know what you mean about Lachie. I was watching thinking, well where the hell did you come from? Oh well, if nothing else, he is rather easy on the eye!_

_Asah331 - Bless, she is a little naive! And that trip to the fair may still happen! I think there will be much more Chase too!_

_PS - thank you for all telling me what Lachie stands for. It wasn't until I rewatched that I realised they weren't calling him Lucky! (I'm a goof!)_


	6. Crisis at a Carwash

**But Who's Going to Save You?**

**Chapter 6: Crisis at a Carwash**

"I'm still trying to work out if I want to kill Flick, or hug her," Lara grumbled, leaning on the pool stick.

Dean glanced up from the shot he was lining up. "I know exactly what you mean," he agreed. "A day washing cars whilst Jake Hudson lords it over us."

"I was thinking more along the lines of just washing cars," Lara said, watching as Dean missed getting the ball in the pocket.

Dean righted himself, looking less than impressed. "You had better be joking about that."

"Thanks Dean," Lara grinned potting her remaining ball and then the black. "That makes it your round."

Dean rolled his eyes. "That's cheating," he stated.

"Hey, you choked," Lara pointed out, smugly. "Don't be bitter because I'm better at pool than you."

"Is that so?" Dean asked, leaning on his pool cue.

Lara nodded. "I'm better at most things than you. It's just the way it is," she declared, poking him in the chest.

With lightning fast reflexes, he grabbed her finger, using it to pull her to him. "Is that so?" Dean muttered, staring down at his blonde partner.

Lara nodded. "You know it, babe. Girls are always better than boys."

Dean licked his lips. "Care to prove it?" At Lara's slightly startled look he quickly tagged on, "At the carwash tomorrow."

Lara's lips twitched. "What did you have in mind?"

"Simple," Dean told her. "Let's see if you, Heidi and Flick can attempt to raise more money than me, Chase and Jordan."

"Oh, that's too easy," Lara scoffed. "And when we win, which we will, you guys will have to wash the ropes for the next six weeks."

Dean laughed. "Let's make it twelve weeks. You need the practice."

"You are so on," Lara informed him.

* * *

><p>Felicity pulled up outside the fire station early. There was already a Rescue SUV parked prominently alongside a Fire truck, and she had clocked Jordan's obnoxiously bright green car pulling up behind her.<p>

She got out and hurried over to Lara and Heidi, the former of whom was waving her over. "Morning, babe," Lara greeted her, cheerfully.

"Morning, ladies," Felicity returned.

"Flick, I hope you have your competitive head on," Lara told her, linking her arm through Felicity's.

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" she asked Heidi, suspiciously.

"Because you have good instincts," Heidi replied.

Lara shook her head. "I may have made a small bet with Dean." Felicity looked over at the man in question, frowning as she saw him huddled with Chase and Jordan – the three of them shooting looks in their direction. "That we could raise more money than them."

"And if we don't?" Heidi asked.

"Babe, it won't come to that," Lara tried to assure her.

Felicity shared a look with Heidi. "What have you bet?" she asked Lara, slowly.

Lara grinned. "That when we win, they will be washing ropes for the next three months."

"Lara!" Heidi exclaimed.

"It will be fine," Lara told them, firmly.

Felicity nodded. If Lara seemed certain, then she would go along with it. Instead, she busied herself setting up with Michelle – making sure the poster boards up along the surrounding streets had been amended to read 'today'. By the time she had made it back, the fierys had already started the barbeque and there were two clear sides to the car park – girls on one side, and the guys on the other.

In the centre, looking mildly amused, Vince and Michelle were seated behind a table. Even from a distance away she could hear Vince calling his complaints to Jake about the 'dining' table they'd been leant.

"All done," Felicity announced, hurrying to join Heidi and Lara. "Let's see if this works," she added, nervously.

"What are they doing?" Heidi asked, her attention on the opposing team.

Lara and Felicity turned to find the three guys pulling their shirts off. "What _are_ they doing?" Felicity asked, somewhat transfixed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Lara said, pulling a face. She marched straight up to Dean. "What are you doing?"

Dean smirked down at her. "Winning a bet," he told her as a pale pink Kia pulled up in front of Jordan, a flushing housewife waving $10 in his face.

"That's cheating, Dean," Lara told him, disapprovingly.

"Nah, ah, ah," Dean shook his head. "We agreed the winner would be whoever earned the most money – not how it was done."

Lara glared furiously. "I didn't think you would stoop this low," she snapped, before storming back to Felicity and Heidi. "You're staring. Both of you," she pointed out.

"Uh huh," Felicity agreed, her head at a slight angle as she watched Chase wash the next car in line. She quickly shook her head free of the thoughts her engaged self shouldn't have been thinking. "What?" she asked Lara.

"I'll be right back," Lara responded, and then, leaving Heidi and Felicity alone, took off at a run to her car.

"What was that?" Heidi asked, a small smile on her face.

Felicity shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe she's going to pimp herself out to get us some cars to wash?"

Heidi laughed. "Not that. You were checking Chase out!"

"I was not," Felicity hurriedly disagreed, feeling her face heat up. She quickly turned away in embarrassment from Heidi, scraping her hair back into a ponytail to give her something to do.

* * *

><p>By the time Lara came back, a bag in her hands, it was clear that the guys were in the lead. Aside from the fact Lara's team had been one down, for the best part of an hour, there had been a steady stream of middle-aged women wanting their cars washing by the guys. Much to both Felicity and Heidi's amusement, despite Vince's attempts to usher cars fairly, Jordan was proving to be the popular one. Heidi couldn't stop giggling at Jordan's embarrassment, whereas Felicity was highly entertained at the fact Dean and Chase were trying to flirt with the female drivers, and getting shot down. Entertained and somewhat confused - yes, Jordan was clearly pretty, but the other two were hardly hit by the ugly stick.<p>

"How are we doing?" Lara asked them.

Felicity shrugged. "I've been trying to keep track, but I think they're a good ten cars ahead of us thanks to Jordan. If we could get more customers, I think we could plough through them quicker. They're going one car per person, but I think if we all worked together on the car, it would help us."

"That's not a bad idea," Heidi agreed, joining them. "But how are we going to get more customers?"

"Bribe Vince?" Felicity suggested.

"I don't think that's going to work," Heidi sighed. "I mean, how are we going to compete with that?" she asked, pointing at the long line of cars.

"Our problem is that the people driving by and stopping are women," Lara informed them. "The men keep on going. So we need to rectify that."

"Why do I suddenly not like the sound of this?" Heidi asked Felicity.

"Because you probably have the same feeling as me," Felicity responded, watching Lara warily. "Like we don't want to know what's in the bag."

"Vince, we'll be right back," Lara called over her shoulder, grabbing Heidi and Felicity's hands and dragging them into the station to the bathroom, pulling out something from the bag.

Felicity looked over at Heidi, happy to see from her unimpressed look that not only had she suspected there were bikini tops too, that she didn't want to wear them either.

"Look, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be stuck washing ropes," Lara told the pair. "And frankly, with Dean pulling that stunt, we're going to need to get a little dirty."

Felicity shared a look with Heidi. "It's going to cost you," Felicity told Lara.

"Yup," Felicity agreed. "Regardless of the outcome, we don't want to be writing up any more paperwork than necessary for a month."

"Oh, come on!" Lara objected. Seeing Felicity and Heidi fold their arms, she sighed. "Two weeks."

"Deal," Heidi agreed, snatching the green and black striped material from Lara's hands.

"Fine," Felicity sighed, taking the hot pink bikini.

It didn't take long for the girls to change. "Look, if we're going to do this, we might as well show those guys we mean business," Heidi sighed. "No ponytails," she told them, pulling her own hair loose and fluffing it out.

Felicity nodded. "And let's roll these shorts up," she added, rolling her own up as high as they would go.

* * *

><p>"Where are they going?" Chase asked, watching Lara drag Heidi and Felicity into the station.<p>

Dean grinned. "That, baby brother, is the act of a desperate woman."

"Looks like a more determined woman if you ask me," Chase muttered.

Dean shook his head, the grin firmly engrained there, and focused his attention on the car which had pulled up in front of him, attacking it with the hose pipe. The two women inside gave him a wave, which he returned with a wink.

"Dean, I think we're in trouble," Chase stammered, pointing back at the firehouse.

Dean turned, his mouth dropping open as Lara marched out wearing the tiniest blue bikini top, flanked by Heidi and Flick.

"Hey!" Jordan cried as Dean caught him with the hose, soaking him. He looked up and suddenly wasn't bothered as he saw his secret girlfriend heading towards them. She was… He blinked. His brain wasn't processing words quickly enough to come up with an appropriate describing word.

Dean, having the same problem, finally found the words. He turned the hose off and dropped it on the floor, marching over to Lara. "Ladies," he nodded at Heidi and Felicity before pulling Lara to one side. "Please tell me you aren't about to stoop so low?" he asked with a half laugh.

Lara stared defiantly up at him. "I'm just evening out the playing field," she responded.

"You're cheating," Dean told her.

"Scared?" she taunted him. "Besides, I thought we agreed - it was whoever raised the most money, and not how it was done."

* * *

><p>"Is she back again?" Jordan asked, pulling a face as a familiar pale pink car appeared.<p>

"I think you've got an admirer," Felicity laughed, passing by to fill up her bucket with some fresh soapy water. It had taken a couple of hours, but it had certainly picked up and Felicity no longer had a clue as to who was in the lead. The station was also getting busier as people were waiting around for Cole to arrive. "Have you got the time?" she asked Chase.

"Nearly three," he replied after a quick examination of his watch. "You got somewhere to be?"

Felicity shook her head. "Cole's late," she muttered. They both turned at the sound of excited screams and Cole's Spyder pulling into the centre of the car park.

"About time," Michelle muttered, joining them as Cole got out of the car and started signing autographs.

Felicity gave her an apologetic smile. "He's never been brilliant with his time keeping," she told her.

"I was getting sick of that lot asking when he was going to appear," Michelle shrugged. "I'm just glad he showed. I've got Vince doing a count at the moment, but with the raffle tickets, I think we've got the money we need." She beamed, leaning forward to give Chase and Felicity an excited hug. "I think we did it."

"Thank god," Felicity murmured. "Because I do not want to do this again."

"For what it's worth, I'd pay to have you wash my car," Chase told her with a grin.

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. "How many times have you had that line used on you today?"

"What are you wearing?" Cole demanded as he and Michelle joined them.

"This little wardrobe was a stroke of genius," Michelle answered for her. "Lara may well have come up with a solution to making sure we earned enough money."

"I would have thought raffling me off would have done that," Cole responded, haughtilly.

Inwardly, Felicity cringed. The expressions on Chase and Michelle's faces were enough for her to want to crawl into a hole and hide in embarrassment. "I promised the fierys I'd introduce you," she said, hurriedly, taking Cole's hand to lead him away. "Classy," she told him when they were out of earshot.

"Classy?" Cole repeated. "One look at you and I question whether or now you know what that word means."

"Bite me, Cole. It's for charity," she snapped.

* * *

><p>By late afternoon, the majority of cars had been washed, and most people were waiting around for announcement of the raffle winner. With Vince's help, Michelle had everyone take a break in what they were doing and had them gathered to one side with Cole, Michelle stepped forward onto the steps, addressing the large crowd of excitable women and the press.<p>

"I want to thank you all for coming today and helping us raise some money for our Helicopter Service. They are vital to what we do and every dollar earned will be put to good use. It's great to see that even though the minister doesn't appreciate the value of a rescue helicopter, you, the public, do. We are still counting, but it looks like we have raised enough to keep two helicopters in the air for this year," she had to pause, grinning, while the crowd erupted into a cheer – the loudest cheers coming from the team. "I also need to take this time to thank the Fire Service for all their help."

"Help chatting up the women," Vince muttered to Dean. "They've just sat on their arses all day."

"Most importantly, I want to thank Cole Turner for raffling himself off," Michele continued, though had to wait for the women in the crowd to stop screaming. When the noise died down, she continued. "Well, clearly you're all here to see who won the date, so without further ado, I will let Cole pick the lucky girl."

Michelle nodded to Felicity. She headed over to Michelle who had been joined by Cole, carrying a bucket full of the tickets and held it up to him. Cole plunged his hand in, pulling out a ticket. "And the luck lady is," Cole grinned. "Lucinda Whitworth."

"Cole," Felicity hissed at him, keeping a smile on her face as they waited for the winner to make her way forward. "That's not what that slip says."

Cole ignored her, stepping forward to plant a kiss on the cheek of a strangely familiar blonde. Unless Felicity was very much mistaken – and she was certain she wasn't – the gorgeous woman who was acting like a crazed fan girl was his PR agent, Lucinda.

It wasn't until the crowds had dispersed somewhat and the car washing had resumed to finish off the final few cars that Felicity had the chance to speak to Cole. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"It's alright, baby," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I did this for you."

"Isn't she your PR person?" Felicity asked, shaking herself free of his touch.

"You rather I went out on a date with a loony?" he returned. "At least this way we both know who I'm having a meal with. I thought you would have liked that?"

Felicity shook her head. "Cole, that's cheating," she told him, bluntly.

"Oh relax," he snapped at her. "Luce bought a ticket – all so you could get a stupid helicopter."

Felicity took a step back, holding her hands up. "No," she told him firmly. Then she spun on her heel.

Cole grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him before she could move two paces. "Do not talk to me like that," he told her, his voice low. "And for the last time, go and get some clothes on.

Felicity yanked her arm free, glaring at him. Wordlessly, she again turned on her heel and stalked away from him, joining Michelle and Vince at the registration desk. They both turned with puzzled expressions when she slammed the bucket of tickets on the table. "Everything alright, Flickety-Split?" Vince asked her, cautiously.

"Just peachy," she growled, continuing past the table.

She had barely left them when Chase appeared, hurrying after her. "What's up?" he asked her. "What happened to your arm?" he added, spotting the red mark.

"It's nothing," she told him, a hint of venom to her tone.

"Well it doesn't look like nothing," Chase pushed.

"Drop. It," she told him through gritted teeth.

It was a squeal of tires and the mad hammering of a car horn which killed the conversation. Chase and Felicity turned in time to see an old truck bearing down on the Fire Station. By the time Felicity had worked out it wasn't going to stop, it was already mounting the footpath. It wasn't going overly fast, but there were people who couldn't get out of the way in time. It was also heading directly towards the registration table.

Her eyes were still on Michelle and Vince as Chase wrapped his arms Felicity's waist, pulling her to the ground. There was a painful explosion in her side, but her eyes were locked on Vince and Michelle. At the last moment, she saw Vince shove Michelle out of the way, and then the truck was there – and she hadn't seen Vince move clear.

* * *

><p><em>Asha331 - He will be in there, eventually, yes! And I'm warming to that pairing. It wasn't going to be... but my muse has developed a will of his own!<em>

_Bubbles799 - Thank you! I'm always checking it for the same reasons you get frustrated, although I'm frequently annoying myself when I read a posted chapter and realise that I missed something. Grrr._


	7. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

**But Who's Going to Save You**

**Chapter 7: Between a Rock and Hard Place**

Lara stared up at the sky, smiling softly. Somehow, despite weather being miserable all week, it had turned out to be a beautiful day and it was only now, as they were packing up, that the grey clouds started to fill the sky. On top of that, regardless of who won the bet, somehow they had raised enough money. Her stomach grumbled loudly – a side effect of the last of the burgers she could smell cooking on the barbeque.

As if someone read her mind, a burger appeared in front of her. "You looked hungry," Dean told her.

Lara snatched it off him and took a bite, emitting a blissful sigh. "I needed that," she agreed, swallowing noisily.

"I know," Dean nodded. "I heard your stomach all the way over there," he said, vaguely gesturing in the direction of the barbeque.

"Liar," Lara grinned, swiping at his chest.

Dean laughed, reaching past her to grab his t-shirt from the back of the car. "I still can't believe you resorted to a bikini," he said, flicking the string against her back, before pulling his own t-shirt on.

Lara snorted in disbelief. "You're the one that took your top off first."

"Either way, I think we can both be proud we raised the money," Dean shrugged.

What was left of Lara's burger hovered near her mouth. "Is that you trying to back out of our bet?" she asked.

Dean gave her a sarcastic laugh. "Keep dreaming, Lara. You're not getting out of this bet that easily."

"Really?" Lara asked. "Because I could have sworn it was you who..." she trailed off, her attention caught by the 16-wheeler bearing down on the fire station. "That's not going to stop," she realised.

Dean followed her stare in time to see the truck bounce up over the curb. "Shit!" he exclaimed, unable to do anything other than watch it barge through a crowd of people until quickly coming to an abrupt halt when it hit the side of the station. Without needing to look at Lara, he knew she was already on the same wavelength as him. She grabbed a spare Rescue shirt from the boot and threw it on. Together, they picked up a kit. "I'll take the driver," he told her. "You start on that," he nodded at the people strewn across the ground.

* * *

><p>"Felicity?" Chase cried, shaking the woman in question. She was staring, mouth slightly open, at the truck which had crashed into the fire station. "Are you alright?" He pulled himself off her and sat her upright, crouching next to her to give her the once over. He couldn't help but wince when he realised that in throwing her to the ground she had grazed her left side, the majority of her left arm, both hands, and her knees.<p>

"Vince," Felicity muttered, getting to her feet, obviously unaware of her injuries.

Chase rose after her. "No, it's Chase," he told her, reaching to brush her hair back to check her head.

Felicity flicked his hand away. "No, Chase. Vince was behind that lorry!"

Confused, Chase looked around, scanning the area. Heidi and Lara were working on a woman who wasn't breathing. Jordan was busy with two fierys trying to control the panicked and mildly injured bystanders. Dean was already climbing up into the truck's cabin to assess the driver. And Vince and Michelle were nowhere in sight.

"You should stay here," he told Felicity.

"Like that's going to happen," Felicity retorted, chasing after him as he ran around the truck.

"Flick, Chase, the driver's had a heart attack, I need some help," Dean called from the truck.

"We're missing Vince and Michelle," Felicity told him. "They were in front of that truck."

Dean glanced at the driver, and then at Chase and Felicity, before finally checking the area in front of him. He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Chase, help me with this driver," he ordered. "Flick, get some help over here. Use the fierys to look after the least injured to free up the team. Whilst you're at it, grab me a de-fib from the car."

Felicity nodded, charging back to the rescue car, grabbing as much of the kit as she could carry, before running over to Jordan and Jake. "Jordan, I need you. Jake, this lot are all yours."

Jake nodded and began barking orders to the other fireman. Leaving the woman he was treating with another fiery, Jordan took off to the car, pulling out another kit, before running after Felicity. "Here," she said, handing the stuff up to Dean.

"Find Michelle and Vince," Dean told her as Jordan arrived.

"What the hell happened?" Jordan asked, looking around at the carnage.

"I don't know," Felicity replied. "But the last time I checked, Vince and Michelle were where that lorry cabin is."

"Hey!" Cole yelled, "Felicity, over here!" Felicity ran over, Jordan right behind her, into the station, to find Michelle in the recovery position, Lucinda and Cole hovering over her. "She was outside, unconscious," Cole explained. "I did exactly what you taught me and checked her out. She hasn't woken up, and I think that her wrist is broken."

"What about you two?" Felicity asked while Jordan ran his own assessment on the Station Manager.

"We're fine," Cole assured her. "We were inside. We came out as soon as we heard the noise."

"Jordan?" Felicity questioned, biting her lip.

"Cole's right. Looks like a broken wrist and a concussion. Cole, we need to find Vince," he added. "I need you to stay with Michelle and watch her. If _anything_ changes, you come and get us."

Cole nodded. "No problem." With one look at Felicity, he pulled his shirt off, over his head, and handed it to her. "You are going to need some form of protection if you're going back out there."

Felicity shook her head, taking the shirt. "Wait," she said, aware they were losing precious minutes. "Lucinda, you stay with Michelle. Dial triple zero and make sure they have ambulances on the way, okay? Cole, I need you to go to our patrol car. In there should be some portable radios. You remember who's in Rescue, don't you?" At his nod, she continued. "Hand them out. Then be prepared to help."

"Good thinking," Jordan told Felicity, as she slipped Cole's shirt on. "But we need to find Vince."

"Okay," Felicity muttered, thinking aloud. "The lorry is half in this building."

Jordan quickly nodded. "I'll head inside. You check outside. You'll be able to fit under the truck easier than me."

Felicity didn't even wait to see him go. She dashed back outside, over to the cabin, partially registering that Dean and Chase had gotten the driver out of the cabin and were desperately trying to revive him. She dropped to her knees and crawled under the cabin, behind the wheels.

The driver's side wheel was wedged firmly in the wall. The passenger side wheel was still spinning, suspended in air. Felicity squinted, trying to see what going on through the dust that was still settling. It tickled her nose, causing her to sneeze. Only, when she inhaled a breath, she realised something. Repeatedly cursing under her breath, she wriggled back out.

"Flick, what's going on?" Dean asked her.

Felicity glanced up at him, frowning slightly as she realised they had called it a day on trying to revive the driver. "I smell diesel," she told him. "I think the fuel tank is leaking."

Dean whirled around, facing his brother. "Find me some sandbags. There should be some somewhere in that station." Chase nodded and took off running as Lucinda emerged from the station.

Felicity's eyes widened in alarm. "Michelle," she whispered, already moving to the PR woman.

"Michelle's phone rang, so I answered it," Lucinda told her, handing her Michelle's iPhone. "Then I realised I couldn't tell her husband what was going on."

Dean frowned, taking the phone from her, expecting to see Ian's name on the caller ID but was both surprised and relieved when it read Vince. "Vince!" he exclaimed, hitting the speaker button. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"_Been better, Deano," _Vince's voice filtered through, weakly. "_Wouldn't mind a couple of tinnies about now though." _He started laughing at his own joke but had to stop because he was coughing.

"I tell you what," Dean said, looking relieved to hear the man. "You tell us where you are, and I'll be getting the first round in later. How's that?"

"_I'm under this damn table,"_ Vince informed them. _"I can't really move though. I think it's buried under the station."_ There was a pause. _"Deano, there's diesel leaking it's way in here."_

"Shit," Dean muttered. "Anything else you're not telling me?"

"_Plenty," _Vince agreed. _"But the only other thing you need to know is that my leg is trapped under the rubble. I can't move enough to know how bad it is. But Dean, I'm rather attached to my leg. Hang on a minute, Jordan?" _he yelled. _"I'm under here! Ahhh!"_

"Vince!" Dean bellowed into the phone. He looked at Felicity. "Find Jordan and get him to stop whatever the hell he's doing before he kills Vince."

Felicity ran into the station. "Jordan!" she yelled. "Jordan!"

"In here," she heard him call back.

"Whatever you're doing, stop!" she cried, charging into the room, sliding to a stop. "Holy crap," she muttered in disbelief. From this angle it was easier to see what was happening. The truck had ploughed through the wall, sending the table Vince was trapped under, back with it, so that the engine was wedged on top of it. The remainder of the wall had collapsed down around it, and the ceiling – and the floor above it, was hanging precariously over the area Vince was buried under. To make matters worse, the room was evidently the same room that was used to home the entirety of the fire station's breathing apparatus – including dozens of oxygen tanks.

Jordan was frozen, a large brick in his hand. "I can hear Vince," he told her. "He's under there!"

Felicity nodded. "But whatever you're doing is doing something to hurt him."

"I'm not moving anything near it," Jordan told him. "I'm trying to clear some space so we can get some supports in here to hold the ceiling up. And we need to move these air tanks. I can smell diesel."

"The lorry is leaking it," she agreed. "It sounds like it's making its way through."

Jordan shook his head, glancing around at the state of the room. "Get Dean," he instructed her.

Felicity ran back outside to find that Lara and Heidi had appeared with Cole and Jake. Several ambulances had arrived and the ambos were helping to treat the injured. "We have a bit of a problem," Felicity told them.

It was Jake who worked it out. "I'll say," he agreed, staring at the building. "That truck has only gone and crashed into the room where we keep all our BAs and air tanks."

"Yeah, and it's compromised the structural integrity of the ceiling," Felicity added. "We need supports in there."

"_And this diesel isn't going anywhere either,_" Vince added with a cough.

"Heidi, Lara, I need you to get some supports and get that ceiling propped up," Dean instructed. "Flick, go find out what's taking Chase so long and get that diesel drained from the fuel tank."

"What can I do?" Cole asked, handing Felicity a radio.

"You can help us clear the air tanks. You're going to need a hard hat," he added, looking at Jake.

Jake nodded at Cole. "Follow me."

* * *

><p>Felicity hurried around to the passenger's side of the truck, nearly knocking into Chase as he dropped a bag of sand off his shoulder.. "I'm here to help. We need to drain the fuel."<p>

"_Dean, give me back that radio,"_ Michelle's voice burst through Felicity's radio.

"_You have just had a blow to your head,"_ Dean responded. _"You need to get to a hospital._"

"_Because that's going to happen! I'm staying here and monitoring the situation. Hand be back my phone._" There was the sound of shuffling. _"Rescue portables, this is Michelle. I'm taking control."_

* * *

><p><em>In other news, I had an interview today (which I think went well). I'm fairly certain I've got the job - assuming I pass the medical, but if anybody has a little bit of luck going spare that they could sent in my direction, it would be much appreciated?<em>

_Miss Deeds - I got the idea from my local fire station. They had a charity carwash, and while they were no Rescue, I will admit I may have gotten my already clean car washed, just so I could say I had semi-naked firemen clean my car. Yes, a little more Dean and Lara here for you!_

_SarahSoph - I hope I didn't keep you hanging too long! Yes, there was a little bit in here. I'll make sure to have a nice fluffy chapter when they eventually rescue Vince._

_Asha331 - I will be honest... I too would be checking him out. :) You're on to something there - it is a tad fishy!_

_LOL, I'm just having a little giggle to myself. I used to watch Home & Away a zillion years ago - one of the last story lines I remember was a kid called Jack crashing a car and burning down Donald Fisher's house in a huge bush fire. By complete chance, searching to see if this week's episode was online yet, I've just discovered Jack was Daniel - his picture popped up and I followed a link. (I knew he was in H&A but I never but that together). That has amused me greatly - I had such a crush on Jack. (I was about 11 so it was allowed!)_


	8. A Rescue from the Rubble

**But Who's Going to Save You?**

**Chapter 8: A Rescue from the Rubble**

A bead of sweat trickled down Michelle's hairline as she put her energy into standing upright to observe everything that was going on. The truth, although she would never admit it, was that she _should_ be in a hospital. She knew she didn't feel right – her thoughts were battling their way through a mound of cotton wool and although she had outright lied to Dean as he bandaged her wrist up that she could barely feel it, it was taking a lot of effort not to cradle it against her.

Outside the worst of the casualties had been rushed off to hospital – with an ambulance standing by ready for Vince (and herself). Chase and Flick had successfully drained what was left in the fuel tank and were busy trying to secure the truck so they could soak the rest of the fuel up with some sand.

Inside, the ceiling was propped up. Cole was proving to be a surprisingly helpful and uncomplaining volunteer: Jordan was steadily hauling the air tanks out of the room to Cole who was taking them outside to an area Jake had set up – away from the building should the worst happen and the leaking fuel catch fire.

Slowly, Dean, Lara and Heidi were clearing what rubble away that they could. They had unearthed Vince's trapped foot, which _thankfully_ he was able to wiggle. Unfortunately, that foot was not only broken, but blood was evidently having trouble reaching his toes. If they weren't careful, when they released it, Vince was going to get hit by a rather large quantity of build up toxins.

"_You've gone quiet on me,"_ Vince accused.

Michelle glanced down at the phone, her gaze falling on the current conversation time of forty eight minutes, and forced herself to smile. "That's not something I'd expect you to complain about," she responded. "I thought you'd want to sup on that air, anyway." Along with unearthing his foot, they had also managed to find a small hole – big enough to allow for an airline to be fed through to help counteract the fumes of the diesel.

"_I'm a mutli-tasker, 'Chelle,_" Vince told her. _"I can breath and listen at the same time."_

Michelle barked out a laugh. "I'm fairly certain you have several ex-wives who would disagree with that."

Vince chuckled, it quickly turning into a cough. _"You may be right about that. But if you could hurry things up a little, I wouldn't complain."_

"You? Complain?" Michelle couldn't help but ask. "Never. And get that oxygen mask back on." She reached for the radio. "Rescue Portable Command to Rescue Portable 4. Sit-Rep."

* * *

><p>"You need to let me bandage those knees up," Chase grunted as he and Felicity wedged a support under the truck's cabin.<p>

"Way down on my list of priorities," Felicity brushed him off.

"Good job it is way up on mine," Jake interrupted them. He threw each of them a pair of overalls. "Waterproof," he added. "It may not be dangerous in small quantities, but I don't want you getting an infection – or worse."

Making sure the support was secure, Felicity stood, wincing slightly as the grazes moved, and brushed off what stones and dirt she could before pulling the trousers on. Even though they were several sizes too big, she was grateful. "What about the others?"

"They're already wearing them. I've also leant them some breathing apparatus', so don't you worry about them," Jake assured her before disappearing.

"That was unusually good of him," Chase muttered, watching him leave.

"_Rescue Portable Command to Rescue Portable 4. Sit-rep."_

"The truck is secure, Michelle," Chase replied. "We're going to get started on trying to soak up this spilt fuel."

"_Leave it. Get someone else on it. I need you two inside with hats and BA's_," Michelle told him. "_We need you inside to help move this rubble."_

"We'll be right in," Chase assured her. "Rescue Portable 4 out."

Leaving the spillage in the hands of a couple of willing firemen, Chase and Felicity hurried to grab the BAs from the Rescue vehicle and then into the damaged Fire Station. "Over here," Dean called.

Wordlessly, they joined in, removing the stone from the top of the mound and moving it to the far side of the room. At some point, Dean had established that the table Vince had been complaining about all morning was probably the thing that was keeping him from being crushed. Although they had to be careful not to move the wrong thing, less the ceiling or even the truck collapsed. Steadily, they were making headway and the table was slowly beginning to appear.

Finally, the only thing that needed removing was the table and the stone trapping Vince's leg – Dean had decided to keep it in place until he could access a vein to counteract the potassium which would go flooding into his leg once it was removed. Unfortunately, the table was still there, preventing them from freeing their boss.

"We're going to have cut this away," Dean decided. "Lara, get the saw from the truck. I'm sure I saw it in there earlier." She hurried away, returning minutes later with the tool in her hands. "Right, Jordan, Chase, I want you to be ready to help get the supports in as soon as Lara cuts the hole. The last thing we want is for this table to collapse in on itself. Heidi, I want you to be ready to help Jordan and Chase get the backboard in." He turned to Felicity. "I want you to be ready to inject the Sodium Bic when I remove this rock."

Felicity nodded, taking the syringe and container from Michelle. To Michelle, time seemed to slow. Instead of minutes, it seemed like hours passed as she watched Lara cut a hole in what was left of the table. Even Chase and Jordan hurrying in with the supports seemed like she was watching it in slow motion.

Michelle continued to take deep breathes. The fact was, this happened to her every time it came over the radio that one of the team was in trouble. It was like she backed into a bubble – words and sounds coming through muffled – while she tried to get her own thoughts organised. And then would come the joyful sound that would burst it. Said team member's voice.

"About bloody time," Vince muttered.

"Ready?" Dean asked Felicity. Slowly, he lifted the rock. As the built up toxins rushed back into Vince, he started fitting. "Flick, get that Sodium in!" Dean bellowed.

Michelle suddenly found herself back in the bubble. Vaguely she was aware of Felicity telling Dean it was going in, Dean telling her to push more… and then Vince took a deep breath.

* * *

><p>In sheer exhaustion, Felicity settled down on the ground, her back against the Rescue Station. After rushing Vince and Michelle off to hospital, while Dean and Lara followed in the patrol car, she and the others had done their best to clear up around the fire station. The place was a state. After packing up their things into Felicity and Jordan's cars, and the back of Dean's truck, Jake had politely told them that there was no chance he would be helping out again.<p>

Lucinda had also made a reappearance announcing that Cole was required to spend a night with the team's physician to make sure he hadn't obtained any injuries – despite the fact she and the others were happy to check him out for her.

By the time she had made it back to the station and shed herself of the fuel covered clothing, had a cool shower and dressed her wounds, outside it was dark and raining. She uncurled her legs, sticking them out from under the shelter the floor above gave, and into the rain.

"You look like I feel," Heidi groaned as she sat down next to her.

"I ache all over," Felicity agreed, quietly. "And I don't have the energy to drive home. I might just sleep here."

"Right there?" Heidi asked, mildly amused.

"Yup," Felicity agreed, closing her eyes.

"I never want to wash another car again," Heidi added.

"Even if it means you get to fly?" Felicity asked without opening her eyes. "Aside from the obvious of what happened after, I wouldn't be overly bothered if we had to do that again."

"So you can perve on Chase!" Heidi cackled.

Felicity turned to stare at the red head. "I was not perving," she informed her. "I'm engaged, remember?"

Heidi shrugged. "Doesn't stop you from looking."

Felicity took a deep breath. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Oh my god, you do like him," Heidi squealed.

"Will you – shhhh," Felicity hushed her. "Not that. About the raffle."

Heidi sobered. "You're jealous Cole's going on a date?"

"No, I trust him," Felicity told her, her gaze moving to the rain falling on her ankles. "He rigged it. The name he pulled out was not the name he read out."

"Oh," Heidi blinked. "I didn't see that coming."

"The winner is his PR agent," Felicity added. "Apparently she bought a ticket, but it just… it feels wrong. Like I'm part of a con. I was going to say something to Michelle but after," she shook her head, gesturing vaguely with her arms. "I don't know what to do."

"Have you spoken to Cole about it?" Heidi asked, thoughtfully.

Felicity shrugged. "He said he did it for my benefit – so I would know he wasn't going out on a date with some crazy-ass woman. The thought had never crossed my mind. I'm just worried that if this comes out its Rescue that's going to get it in the neck, rather than Cole."

Heidi frowned. "I'd hold off on saying anything to Michelle, for now. If only four of us know, then I don't see how it could hurt anyone."

"I guess," Felicity agreed. "I just don't think things stay secret for long."

"Oh, they can," Heidi assured her, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.

_No, they don't_, Felicity thought, knowing exactly what Heidi was implying. _They never do._

* * *

><p><em>Why, oh why, are they taking this show away from me? I don't know how much good it will do, but there is a petition going to save it - can't hurt, right? I'll put a link in my profile.<em>

_humey - it makes me laugh because it wasn't me, but if it was, I think I would be mortified. Mainly because I would have gone, "Andrew - we don't know each other, and we've never met, but he's my future husband." More Heidi/Jordan? Noted!_

_MMC Gang - Thank you. It sucks sooo much - I haven't been this excited about a show in years. (:c)_

_Asha331 - Yes, I will be including Lachie (eventually!) He'll probably just pop up out of nowhere, like he did in the show. I'm trying to focus on them all - it's just easier with Flick!_

_Miss Deeds - More Dean/Lara? Also noted. I stopped liking Cole! Still heard nothing on the job. I was hoping to hear something today, but no such luck. Hopefully tomorrow brings better news!_

_Righto, I think we need a little bit of fluffiness, right?_


	9. COD, a bathtub and the Hangover

**But Who's Going To Save You?**

**Chapter 9: ****COD, a bathtub and the _Hangover_**

"Are you still here?" Chase asked, a little surprised to find Felicity outside watching the rain fall on her feet. "Are they not cold?" he added, pointing at her toes.

"Actually, no," Felicity yawned. "To be honest, I had tuned out." With a groan, she pulled herself to a standing position, popping her back as she slipped her flip flops on. "Why are you still here?"

"I was waiting for Dean to pick me up," Chase explained. "Only he's going to have dinner and a movie with Lara."

"And you're sure there's nothing going on between them?" Felicity chuckled. "You need a lift?"

Chase rubbed his neck, sheepishly. "Wouldn't say no."

"Why not?" Felicity shrugged, digging her hands into her pockets to pull her keys out. "Come on." They dashed through the rain into the car. "For the record, I have no idea where I'm going."

"Left," Chase told her, staring around the car in amazement. "I love this car."

"It's growing on me," Felicity told him, frowning. The truth was she loved the car – it was more of the fact she had a feeling Cole had bought it her because he could.

"Don't you bother with the radio?" Chase asked. "I bet the sound system is awesome."

"I get so used to Cole turning my music off I guess I got used to silence," Felicity shrugged.

"It can't be that bad," Chase told her, turning the stereo on. "Queen?" he asked in surprise. "Why would you turn this off?"

"Cole doesn't like it," Felicity explained, feeling the need to defend him. "And to be fair, if it isn't Queen, it is cheesy 80s music – like Madonna, or Wham."

"I would probably turn Wham off," Chase agreed. "But not Queen." He cocked his head, watching her bob her head to _Killer Queen_. "You didn't strike me as an 80s fan."

"My dad was a Queen fan and I although I was six at my eldest point of the eighties, I kept listening to it during the nineties. My sister was the Madonna fan. She's six years older than me, but she was wandering around in a cone bra when she was ten."

"You need to take the next right," Chase interjected, laughing.

"What are you doing tonight then?" Felicity asked. "Hot date?"

"Nah," Chase replied, shaking his head. "I'm enjoying having Dean's place to myself and I'm going to play a little C.O.D."

"Black Ops?" Felicity asked.

Chase blinked. "You play _Call of Duty_?"

Felicity nodded. "I prefer _Final Fantasy_, or even _Little Big Planet_, but I figured if you can't beat them, join them."

"I don't get it," Chase muttered, confused.

Felicity sighed. "Cole's life is rugby and a lot of his time, especially during the season, is spent playing games and training. Out of season, it's replaced with _Call of Duty_. I realised that if I wanted to spent time with him, I'd best man up." She laughed. "At first he wouldn't let me play, but after spending some time practicing, I kicked his ass. Now I get to join in."

"You really play _Call of Duty_?" Chase asked, still surprised. "Next right."

"Yes," Felicity laughed. "Want a game?"

"Yeah," Chase nodded. "You're on."

"Well, as it happens, Cole is staying with the team doctor tonight, so I'm free," Felicity shrugged.

"Tonight?" Chase repeated.

"Chicken?" Felicity couldn't help but taunt him.

"It's just up here, on the left," Chase instructed her. "And you are on. But I'm not going easy on you, just because you're a girl."

"And for that comment, I'm going to kick _your_ ass," Felicity told him, pulling over and parking.

They dashed for the door, huddling under the porch while Chase unlocked the door. "Just wait here," Chase instructed her, as soon as they were in.

"Chase, I'm sure it's not that bad," Felicity told him, following him into the living room to find him hurriedly throwing a pile of dirty laundry behind the couch.

"I wasn't expecting company," Chase apologised as he straightened the room up, clearing a spot on the couch.

"Cheers," Felicity muttered, dropping onto the couch and kicking her shoes off.

"You want a drink?" Chase asked as he gathered up a handful of empty beer bottles. "We probably have beer. Or tea?"

"Water is fine," Felicity told him, reaching for the PS3 controllers and the television remote. While Chase busied himself in the kitchen, she loaded the game up. He returned balancing a couple of Pringles tubes under his arms as he carried the drinks in.

"You're about to lose miserably," he informed her, taking a seat on the couch.

"And you're about to have the disheartening realisation that you're talking about yourself," Felicity returned, using his lap as a footrest.

* * *

><p>"Jord – you spend more time in there than most women!" Heidi hollered. Jordan had 'nipped' to the bathroom a good twenty minutes ago, leaving her channel surfing. Not that she was paying attention to what was on. Her mind was actually distracted by what Felicity had told her earlier. And now she needed distracting.<p>

"And men complain about us women in the bathroom," she grumbled to herself as she pulled herself off the couch. "Seriously Jordon!" she hollered, making her way to the bathroom. "What are you doing in there?" She sniffed suspiciously. "Can I smell burning? Jord? Your mum's not going to be impressed if she comes back and discovers you've burnt her house down!"

The door flew open. "Has anyone ever told you you're impatient?"

"What are you doing?" Heidi asked him, trying to peer around him.

Jordan grinned, leaning against the door frame as he pulled the door closed behind him. "There are so many ways I could answer that," he told her. He reached out, grabbing her hand, pulling her to him. "But instead, I will show you." He pushed the door open and moved out of the way.

With her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, Heidi stared into the bathroom. His small bathroom was lit by a dozen or so mismatched candles – ranging from tea lights, to scented pillars, to the table candles Heidi knew Jordan kept under the kitchen sink – just in case the power went off. The small bathtub was also filled to the brim with big fluffy bubbles.

"Care to join me?" Jordan asked her as he shed his clothes and slipped in.

Heidi didn't need asking twice, giggling uncontrollably as the water spilled over the side of the tub as she got in. "You misjudged that one," she told him, leaning over to watch the bubbles float across the room.

"Shuddup," he muttered, pulling her back to him.

"So what's this in aid of?" she asked him.

Behind her, Jordan shrugged. "You were quiet on the ride here. I figured you were worrying about Vince and Michelle."

"No," Heidi sighed, shaking her head. "Well, I am, but it's something Flick told me."

"What?"

Heidi frowned, nibbling at her lip. "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"You don't have to tell me, you know," he told her, rubbing her arms.

She wanted to. She was tempted to. The fact was that she wasn't sure exactly what the implications were of what Cole had done, but she was sure it wasn't going to look good for Rescue if it came out – a lot of people had spent $50 at a chance to win a date with the rugby star, and even Heidi was willing to admit that if she had spent the money and it came out, she would be pissed.

But telling Jordan was not only betraying Felicity's confidence – and she knew the two of them were going to become good friends – but it also meant that if it came out, and it came out that Jordan also knew, well he was going to be in trouble too. And if nothing else, she was going to protect him from that. _Plausible deniability_ – that was the phrase, right?

"I think she likes Chase," she muttered instead. It wasn't a complete lie – she did think the girl liked him, and she had asked her.

Jordan laughed. "He likes her."

Heidi twisted her back to look up at her boyfriend. "He told you that?"

"No," Jordan all but snorted. "But he's one of my best mates. It's obvious. He's always watching her."

"It's a shame she's engaged," Heidi nodded thoughtfully. "Even if the guy she's going to married is a bit of a tool."

"I don't know," Jordan shrugged. "Cole seems alright to me. And he really helped today. Besides, she moved to the other side of the world to be with him, so she obviously loves him."

"And speaking of love," Heidi said, rolling onto her front, the action sending another tidal wave of soapy water over the side of the bath. She reached up, wrapping her arms around Jordan's neck. "I don't think I've told you I've love you today."

* * *

><p>Dean leant back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, his head coming to rest on wall behind. With a long, drawn out breath, he ran his hand over his mouth. "I need a beer," he muttered.<p>

"I second that," Lara agreed, curling her legs up underneath herself. "Why are hospital chairs so uncomfortable?"

Dean shrugged, his hands falling to his knees. "Probably to distract you from what's going on," he suggested. With a groan he got to his feet. "This is crazy. We know they're both fine."

"I know," Lara agreed, making no attempt to move.

"So why are you both still here?"

Lara and Dean glanced up, finding a very dishevelled, worn out Michelle watching them, her wrist in a cast. "'Chelle, you should be in a bed," Dean told her.

"And I would be, but a nurse informed me there were two exhausted members of Rescue looking rather pathetic in the waiting room," Michelle responded. "I had a feeling it would be you two. Now go home, and go to bed."

"What about you and Vince?" Lara asked.

Michelle gave her a reassuring smile. "Broken wrist – broken foot. And Vince is apparently suffering from a headache worse than any hangover he's ever had. We all just need some sleep – you two included."

"Let me know if either of you need a lift tomorrow morning," Dean instructed her. "Now get back to bed yourself." With a smile, Michelle disappeared back into her room. "Come on," Dean said, turning to Lara. "Let's get you home."

The drive to Lara's was quiet – the only sound coming from the low rumbling of the engine, the rain hammering down on them, and the water splashing up into the wheel wells. Eventually, Dean pulled up behind Lara's car and turned the engine off. "I think I'm going to order takeout and watch a movie," she sighed, stretching. "Want to join me?"

"Is it going to be a chick-flick?" Dean asked warily.

"Actually, I've got _The Hangover_ on DVD," Lara replied. "I fancy something light and funny tonight."

"Well, when the other option is watching Chase mope on the couch, I suppose even a chick-flick is a better option," Dean shrugged.

"Is pizza alright?" Lara asked as they walked through the front door. She made a detour to the kitchen, plucking a takeaway menu from her fridge.

"Fine with me," Dean called, settling into the couch. The room had changed a lot since the last time he had been there – way back when Lara was still with Hamish. All of his belongings were gone, and the only sign that he had ever existed was a small photograph of him and Lara on the bookshelf. It was actually nice to be able to sit on a couch again. It was definitely time for Chase to move out.

"You could have put the DVD in, you know?" Lara complained as she joined him in the living room, now wearing a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a vest top. She flicked the television on and stuck the DVD in, before settling down on the couch with Dean.

"I'm not going to bite, you know," he told her, rolling his eyes at the fact she was curled up on the couch as far away from him as possible.

"I'm comfy!" Lara objected.

By the end of the movie, the pizza box was empty on the coffee table and Lara was using Dean as a cushion. "If I get married, there's no way I'm letting either Chase or Lachie organise my buck's night. It would be worse than a tiger in the bathroom."

Lara glanced up, an amused smile on her face. "Marriage? You?"

"It could happen," Dean responded in mock outrage. "You know, with the right woman," he added.

"You heard back from Zoe, then?" Lara asked quietly.

"No I haven't," he muttered. "But that isn't quite what I meant."

Lara pulled away to study him, her head cocked. "Have you got your eye on someone I don't know about?"

Dean gave her a soft smile. "No one new."

"Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something from me?" she asked him, warily.

"I didn't think it was hidden," he shrugged.

"But there is someone?" Lara asked, grinning.

Dean stared at her for a moment, locking eyes. Then he sighed, leant over, and kissed her.

* * *

><p><em>I'm gonna be honest - I have no idea where most of this chapter came from. It seemed to take on a life of its own... Oh well! For now, I shall let y'all draw your own conclusions as to what happens next.<em>

_retardedgazelle - yay! I sometimes find it really hard to keep the characters in characters - so that makes me really happy - thank you! I do have a plan for Cole! :D_

_MMC gang - I know what you mean - I find myself getting twitchy on a Tuesday as I wait for Rescue to make its way onto the download sites - and then it takes everything in me not to watch the episode at work! I don't know if the petition will help, but I really can't see it hurting. You never know!_


	10. Michelle's New Babies

_Okely dokely – as promised, I would warn you of major mentions of episodes and this is the first one. 3x13: Dunes. If you haven't watched it, there will be MAJOR spoilers. If you haven't watched it because you're in the UK – they're all on the Channel Nine Rescue site, and better yet - unlike the stinky American shows, they're not restricted! Otherwise, come back in about three chapters... That being said, I will be manipulating the episode for my own uses. Or better yet, check out my profile and I will let you know when it's safe to start reading again!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going to Save You? <strong>

**Chapter 10: Michelle's New Babies  
><strong>

"Vince, you're here!" Michelle exclaimed happily as Vince appeared in her office doorway.

"You're remarkably cheerful this morning," he responded suspiciously. Awkwardly, he leant one of his crutches against the door and shook his backpack off his back.

"Let me get that," Michelle told him. "You know, you shouldn't have come in."

Vince stared at her in bewilderment. "First you're happy I'm here, then you're telling me I shouldn't be? Make your mind up, woman."

Michelle laughed, using her arm without the broken wrist to grab the backpack from Vince's feet. "You have a broken foot. You should be in bed, resting."

"And you have a broken wrist, and yet you managed to make it to work," he retorted.

"I know," Michelle said, shooting him a grin. "That's because I have some new babies."

"Babies?" Vince repeated, dubiously.

Michelle nodded. "Follow me," she told him, heading for the stairs.

"Oh, come on!" Vince complained. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get up them?"

"If I said that the minister had supplied us with some new equipment, would that get you moving quicker?"

"Have we got those new harnesses?" Vince asked, hopefully.

"Better," Michelle beamed, before disappearing down the stairs.

Vince grunted and grabbed his other crutch, hobbling after her. "You could have waited, you know," he muttered as he joined her. He stopped, mouth falling open as he saw Michelle's new 'babies'. "I'm declaring joint custody," he declared, happily. "How on earth did you wangle that one?"

Michelle turned her attention from the two quad bikes and the off road bike and gave Vince a sly smile. "Well, apparently the minister _was_ watching our efforts at the car wash. Not only did she decide to provide us with these little beauties, she's also ensuring the third helicopter stays airborne."

"And what about the radios?" Vince asked. At the car wash, he and Michelle had had a couple of radios on the table with them. Afterwards, neither of them had been repairable.

"Coming," Michelle nodded. "Oh, and did I mention, we're going to be getting a new patrol vehicle too?"

* * *

><p>"This place is phenomenal," Felicity muttered in awe, her hand shading her eyes so she could turn on the spot to stare at the sand dunes that surrounded them.<p>

"You're supposed to have a broken leg," Chase pointed out from his prone position on the sand.

Felicity dropped her hand and rolled her eyes. "You do realise that the others will be taking the most indirect route possible to 'find' us," she told him, making quote marks with her fingers. "And you're starting to sound like your brother."

"I do not!" Chase objected, pulling a face.

"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. She sat down next to him, folding her legs beneath her. "Although, if it was your brother, we wouldn't have crashed, I wouldn't have a broken leg, and you wouldn't be suffering a brain bleed."

Chase sat upright and scowled at her. "I don't have a brain bleed. I have a laceration to my forehead," he corrected her, pointing at the obviously fake cut on his head.

"Obtained when you fell from the bike and hit your head. For all we know, you could have brain damage," she smirked. "Which would be alright if we lived in Seattle and McDreamy was there to save the day, then McSteamy could fix your face and you'd be your good-looking self again," she added, leaning over to pinch his cheek.

"A Mc-what?" Chase asked, frowning slightly. "Is that some form of weird burger in England?"

"A burger?" Felicity repeated, pulling a face. "Chase, I'm talking about _Grey's Anatomy_, not a bloody fast food restaurant. Although, a McFlurry wouldn't go amiss right now."

Chase shook his head, lying back down. "Has anyone ever told you, you're crazy?"

"Numerous people, on numerous occasions," Felicity nodded. With a frustrated sigh, she rolled the sleeves and the bottom of her t-shirt to allow the sun access to her pale skin. "I don't know why I bother," she muttered, uncurling her legs and stretching out on her back. "I don't change colour."

Chase propped himself up on his elbow. "What are you doing?"

"Milking a cow," Felicity muttered, deadpan.

Chase rolled his eyes. "You'll burn."

"I'll get a few more freckles," Felicity corrected him. "I just want to give these grazes a bit of vitamin D – see if they can heal a bit quicker. Besides, if they leave us out here for much longer, we'll both have sunburn anyway." She glanced at her watch. "If this was a real rescue, my leg and your brain would have bled out ages ago. Although, if you were wearing your helmet when we fake crashed, you wouldn't have a fake brain injury."

"Crazy," Chase muttered, shaking his head. He leant over and grabbed the only radio they had. "Do you guys need us to light a beacon or something? This is the worst response time, ever."

"_Shut up, Chase. You're unconscious,_" Dean told him.

"I'm not," Felicity informed him, leaning over Chase to speak into the radio. "I'm still very much vocal and contemplating heroics which will undoubtedly complicate your rescue further."

"_Chase, have you got any more laceration stickers for Flick's head?"_ Dean asked, his tone dry.

"Don't know?" Chase shrugged. "I'm unconscious, remember?"

Felicity chuckled to herself, settling back into the sand. "Sometimes, I think your brother wants to throttle me."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think he _always_ wants to throttle me," Chase told her, half listening to Vince, Michelle and Dean argue over who had the parental rights of the bikes.

"You say that, but you sleep on his couch," Felicity pointed out. "I love my sister dearly, but we really would murder each other if we lived together. You may not think it, but you're lucky..." she trailed off. "Are you listening to me?"

Chase shook his head, turning up the volume on the radio.

"_Yeah, it's a buggy gone over,"_ Dean's voice blasted out.

"_Single occupant, male, probably fifteen to sixteen years old," _Heidi added.

"What the hell?" Felicity muttered in confusion.

"_Right, so I'm guessing he won't have a license?"_ Michelle asked in frustration.

"_I doubt it," _Heidi agreed. _"There's no plates on the vehicle either."_

"_I'll call a local cop shop and see if we can pin a name on this kid," _Vince sighed_. "How are his obs?"_

"_He's none responsive, but Dean's trying to get close enough to do a nose to toes," _Heidi replied.

"_Rescue Four and Six portable, are you still there?"_ Vince asked.

"Rescue four portable, you won't believe our amazing recoveries, Vince," Chase replied, ripping the fake wound from his head. "We're on it." Beside him, Felicity was already on her feet, pulling her sleeves and top down to their normal position.

"_Get yourself to the accident site, set up the flags – it looks like this area has a lot of off-road traffic," _Vince instructed them.

While Chase stood the bike upright, starting it, Felicity reached for her helmet, pulling it on. Quickly she hopped on the bike behind Chase. "I'm good," she told him, before they took off, flying over the sand dunes.

The next thing Felicity knew, she was on her side, sliding along the ground with her leg trapped under the bike. She lay there, stunned for a moment until Chase's hand was shaking her shoulder. She let out a groan and pulled her helmet off. "Seriously, Chase?" she grunted, trying to pull her leg free from under the bike. "Are you desperate to get me on my back?"

"Are you alright?" he asked her, lifting the bike off her.

Felicity pulled her foot free and rolled up her trouser leg, gingerly pressing the tender muscle. "I think it's just a sprain," she winced. "What about you? Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Chase muttered, somewhat distracted as he pulled a broken radio out from underneath the bike. "Rescue Four portable to Rescue Base, come in?" he said. "Great."

"You killed it?" Felicity asked, nibbling her lip.

"And the bike too," he muttered, examining the wreckage. He leant over to help Felicity up, when a boy appeared from out of the grass. "Hey!" he called.

"Go!" Felicity told him. Chase was off like a shot after the kid. Using the bike as a support, Felicity got to her feet, watching as the boy – probably still in high school – fell to the ground. In the second it took for her to realise he was seizing, she was hobbling after them.

By the time she got to the pair, Chase was already supporting his head. "Easy, breathe," he muttered. He glanced over at Felicity as she knelt down beside them. "What's the chance you have your phone on you?"

"About the same chance you have yours," she responded. "The kit's all on the quads, too." The seizure eased up and Chase turned him on his side. "Hang on," Felicity told him, reaching for the teen's neck. "His name's Todd Rouse," she said, reading the nametag. As Todd started to come around she leant back to give him room.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chase asked him, trying to stop him from sitting bolt upright.

Todd ignored him, trying to move around his hands as he slowly began to focus on him. "Yeah."

"My name's Chase," he told him. "And this is Felicity. We're from Rescue."

Todd glanced over at Felicity. "Rescue?"

"Yeah," Chase nodded. "Me and my team are attending a buggy crash down here."

"I – I was just..." Still trying to sit up, Todd swayed. Quickly, both Chase and Felicity reached for him, supporting him.

"Easy," Chase said, gently. "You've taken a bit of a turn."

"Turn?" Todd asked. "No, you must have hit me with your bike or something."

Chase glanced at Felicity, noting the face she pulled and then turned his attention back to Todd. "So you don't get seizures?"

"Dunno what you're talking about," Todd told him, refusing to look at either one of them.

"Are you sure you're not an epileptic, Todd?" Felicity asked him.

Todd stared at her suspiciously. "How'd you know my name?"

"Easy," Chase muttered, holding his hands up. "It's in the back of your shirt."

"Bloody mum," Todd cursed. "Yeah, okay, I'm epileptic. So what?"

"So, you just had a grand mal seizure," Chase pointed out. "We need to get you to the rest of the team and give you a proper medical."

"No!" Todd cried. "No, I gotta get home." Trying to pull himself free from Chase and Felicity's grasp, he struggled to his feet. "Mum knows what to do."

"Wait," Felicity ordered. "Which way?"

"That way," Todd replied, allowing Chase to support him. His eyes fell on the bike. "Cool bike."

Chase glanced back, frowning. "Yeah, it was." He looked at Felicity and sighed. "You want me to take it?"

Felicity shook her head. "I've got the duff ankle. You help Todd and I'll take the bike. I can use it as support."

"You've got an accent," Todd told her, his eyes widening.

"I'm not the one with the accent," Felicity called over her shoulder as she hobbled back to the bike. "You're the one with the accent."

"That doesn't make any sense," Todd mumbled to Chase.

"Sense?" Chase repeated. "No _that's _the part of her that does make sense. You want to be asking her about McSteamed."

"Why does that sound like a really nasty vegi-burger?" Todd asked him, wrinkling his nose.

* * *

><p>The walk to Todd's house was relatively quick. Or it would have been had they not been walking slowly because of Felicity's ankle. Admittedly it was doing better, but it was still slow going. They were coming up the final dune, Todd's house in sight, when a woman in her thirties came dashing out the door. "Todd?" she called, running over to them.<p>

Chase glanced over at Todd, who was now walking unsupported. "That's your mum?"

Todd rolled his eyes. "How'd you guess?"

"Todd, what happened?" his mother demanded.

"Nothing!" he cried.

Todd's mother glared at Chase who sighed loudly. "He had a seizure on the dunes. Sorry," he apologised quickly, seeing how confused the mother was. "I'm Chase Gallagher and this is Felicity Lowe. We're from Rescue."

"We were attending a buggy crash when we found your son," Felicity added.

Todd's mother glared furiously at them. "Well why didn't you call me?" she demanded.

"I'm afraid the radio's out," Chase told her, as apologetically as he could. "I need to use your phone to call my team if that's possible?"

"Sure," Todd's mother muttered, brushing him aside. She turned her attention to her son, checking him over. "You okay? You know I don't like you walking the dunes alone."

Todd rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah you don't like me doing anything alone."

"Well can you blame me with those idiots and their dune buggies?" she snapped at him. She looked at Felicity. "Was anybody hurt?"

Felicity nodded, trying to remember the name she'd heard over the radio. "A boy called Sean Cooper. Do you guys know him?" she asked, watching as the mother and son shared a look.

"Everyone knows the Coopers," Todd's mother muttered, dismissively. "They treat this place like it's their own private motor cross circuit."

"Is Sean going to be okay?" Todd asked Chase, looking worried.

Chase sighed. "My team's there. He's with the best people possible."

Mrs Rouse eyed them both dubiously. "Really?"

"We had a little accident, hence the need to use the phone?" Felicity hinted, keeping a smile on her face.

"It's in the house," Todd's mother sighed. She wrapped her arm around her son's shoulder – despite his protest and led them into the house. "There," she said, pointing at the phone. "I take it it's going to be a local call?" she asked, looking pointedly at Felicity.

"Yes, ma'am," Chase answered for her.

Felicity held her breath, waiting for Mrs Rouse to disappear into the house then turned to Chase. "Local call? Really?"

"I think she's worried about her son," said Chase, ushering her over to a chair. "I don't think she really thought about what she was saying. And what's with you today. You're really… twitchy."

"I'm not twitchy," Felicity objected.

"But you also haven't been able to sit still all day," he pointed out, placing his hands on her shoulder and forcing her to sit.

"I'm not twitchy," Felicity repeated, trying to push Chase's hands off her shoes. "I don't like being the patient. It's just a sprain. In fact, it's feeling better already – I probably just rolled it."

"Which we won't know unless it's examined," Chase pointed out, finally unlacing the shoe.

"We should be phoning in our location," Felicity returned. "And going helping the others."

"Which you can't do unless your ankle is examined," Chase continued.

"You can ring, you know," Felicity started. Then she sighed, seeing the pointed look Chase was directing at her. "Fine," she muttered in defeat and sunk back into the chair.

"It needs strapping up, but it looks like you've sprained it," he looked up and grinned. "Now stop pretending it doesn't hurt, because it's making you grumpy."

"Sorry," Felicity grumbled, watching as Chase laughed at her. He pulled a bandage out from his pocket and started wrapping her ankle up. "And of course you just happen to have that in your pocket. Were you a boy scout, or something?"

"Or something," he agreed, tying it off. "That's not too tight, is it?" Seeing Felicity shake her head, he finally reached for the phone and dialed. "Hi Vince, its Chase."

"_Chase? Where the bloody hell have you been?" he demanded._

"We were heading for the accident, a kid ran out in front of the bike and we swerved. He had a seizure so we walked him home."

"_And what about you and Flick?"_

"We're fine," Chase assured him. "Felicity's sprained her ankle. How are the others doing?"

Vince sighed. _"The kid didn't make it. They're packing up._"

"Sorry to hear that," Chase muttered.

"_Where are you? I can send your brother to pick you up,"_ Vince offered.

"Uh yeah, it's bungalow 17 – the beach on Power Street," Chase told him, ringing off.

"Is everything okay?" Felicity asked, watching him carefully.

"The Cooper boy didn't make it," Chase sighed.

"He didn't?"

Felicity blinked. She hadn't even noticed that Todd's mother had joined them. Chase shook his head.

"Oh, no," she mumbled. "Poor Graham. I can't even imagine if I lost Todd." Muttering to herself, she disappeared back into the house.

* * *

><p>Dean stood to one side, watching as the ambos carefully loaded Sean Cooper's body into the back of the van. Beside it, his father, Graham, was watching helplessly. Cautiously, he walked over. "You can go with him," he said, his words startling him.<p>

"No," Graham told him. "Lynne. My wife… I've got to call Lynne. No," he shook his head. "I've got to tell her face to face. I can't tell her on the phone that her son's dead."

Heidi joined them, clutching at a small collection of belongings. "I'm really sorry Mr Cooper."

"What kind of dad am I?" Graham asked her in disbelief. "I can't look after my son – I can't protect him."

Heidi gave him a sad smile, handing over his son's belongings. "These are Sean's things from the accident site."

Lovingly, Graham's hands ran over the items, until his fingers fell onto a small silver bracelet. "What's this?" he asked, holding it up.

"Sean's epilepsy bracelet," Heidi replied.

For half a moment, Dean was certain a spark of anger passed through Graham, but as quickly did it appear, did it disappear. "Thanks," he muttered

Dean watched him leave, frowning slightly. Then he stuck his hands in his pockets, sighing as his fingers felt the bag of weed he'd found at the buggy crash. He headed back to the truck, ready to start writing up the incident, but stopped when he realised Lara had seen him and hurried over to the other vehicle. Three days of this was enough. He threw the weed in the truck and walked purposely over to Lara. "You're ignoring me," he told her.

"No, I'm not," Lara told him, busying herself with something in the boot.

"Then you're avoiding me. And you've been doing it since Saturday. When we kissed," Dean pointed out.

Lara sighed, turning to lean against the bumper. "Alright," she nodded. "Maybe I have. I'm sorry. I… I just didn't know what to say."

"Well, anything would have been better than nothing," Dean told her, leaning against the car, next to her.

"I know. I'm sorry," she repeated. "It's just…" she frowned. "We work together."

"Lara, it was just a kiss," Dean told her, quickly. "It wasn't a marriage proposal. And for what it's worth, I won't let it happen again. So stop avoiding me," he added with a forced grin. Without waiting for a response he made his way to the quad bikes to start packing them away.

Lara watched him go. She had been trying to tell him that yes, they worked together, and yes she'd been avoiding him, and no, she didn't know how to successfully merge the two so the avoidance disappeared altogether. Because she'd been wanting him to do that, to kiss her (and maybe a little bit more) for so long she couldn't even put a time to it. That part of the avoidance came from the fact that she didn't want him to brush it off. That it mattered more to her than it did to him. That she had been trying for three days to put that jumbled collection of words into something more cohesive.

And then he assured her it wasn't going to happen again.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry it has been a while without an update. It turns out I have a stalker. Oh yes, some eejit has developed some infactuation with me. Me! I shouldn't laugh, but if I didn't, I think I would cry. A lot. Sadly, while my rabbit, Jack, is rather good at going for people's ankles, he's just not threatening enough. So, writing it really not top of my to-do list (Although you have got to read my longest chapter yet). It's doing my health a lot of good... Decided to take up running, because if you knew me, you'd know I have the upper body strength of a stick of celery. Not entirely sure that watching the Scream movies was a brilliant idea to help me sleep. Internet dating... it turned me into a horror movie cliche.<em>

_Anyway, moving onto happier stuff. Rescue... yeah, that show can put a smile on my face. Although I have just watched this week's episode and wow - who else wants to give Dean a big ol' hug?_

_Miss Deeds - Well, they have three weeks to redeem themselves as there was any... anything. I won't be impressed if there's nothing by the time they kill this show. I was supposed to have an assessment today, but they called me up at 8am(!) to let me know that the assesment I had taken last year was valid for another four, so it's waiting on the medical now. Which I passed last time, but then they decided to put a stop on all hiring, so I'm hoping it doesn't happen again. Otherwise, I will be walking out, becuase I can't afford to lose any more of my wages again!_

_MMC gang - I will most definitely be writing more fluffy chapters in the future - I might have enjoyed writing it far too much. As for Chase and Felicity, well they're behaving themselves. For now..._

_Asha331 - Cole will be around for a while longer, but I've already written him getting his comeuppance. Admittedly, the way I see this panning out, it could be a very long story. They totally like each other. Now I just have to get them all playing happy families!_


	11. Oh The Joy, Armed Lunatic

_Still got uber spoilers for Dunes..._

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 11: "Oh The Joy. Armed Lunatic."**

"How's that ankle doing?" Chase asked, taking a sip of the cup of tea Stephanie Rouse had just brought him.

"I'm not going to be abseiling down any cliffs today," Felicity admitted, rotating it slightly. "But it is feeling a lot better."

"Dean will be here in a bit, then we can get back to base. I'm sure Michelle will let you get off early."

"No," Felicity disagreed. "I'm fairly certain that you and I will be performing evasive manoeuvres as we try to avoid being killed for writing off her baby. And, for the record, I will be performing them much better than you."

"That's because you spend more time running than you do shooting, and I still managed to beat you the other night," Chase grinned.

Felicity groaned. "Three out of five, Chase," she cried, emphasising the number by using her fingers. "I still won two of them, and if I hadn't have accidentally blown myself up, I would have won three of them."

"But you didn't," Chase mocked. "And you _did_ blow yourself up by walking into your own mine. I mean, who does that?"

Felicity pulled a face, leaning over to smack him, but missed, instead swiping air as Chase laughed at her. "You'd just told me Michelle and Vince used to see each other! I was a little distracted. And speaking of distractions, stop avoiding calling Michelle and giving her a heads up about crashing that bike."

"I'm not going to call Michelle," Chase shot back. "She'd kill me. She would find a way to jump out of the phone, like in a cartoon, and she'd kill me."

Felicity burst out laughing. "Don't worry. I have a stick of Acme dynamite in my pocket. I'll pwotect you fwom de big bad Michewle."

Chase rolled his eyes, reaching for the phone, dialling. "Hi Vince, it's me…. Look, I need to tell you something, and you're not going to be happy…. How the hell did you know?"

Felicity nearly choked on her water, laughing. Chase glaring at her, just made her laugh harder.

"No, it doesn't look too bad, but it's bad enough that Michelle's going to hit the roof…. Looks like the fuel line…" Chase sighed. "It's not only that, Vince. The bike needs panel beating too…. Vince?" He put the phone down. "He hung up on me."

"Can't say I blame him," Felicity said, still laughing.

"Laugh all you want" Chase shrugged. "He told us to walk home."

Felicity's mouth fell open. "What?" This time it was Chase's turn to laugh. "Oh, I really don't like you," Felicity grumbled at him as the phone rang.

After a couple of rings, Felicity watching him expectantly, Chase got up. "I'm gonna get that!" he yelled into the house. "Rouse residence... She found what?" Felicity, who had been watching Chase, frowned as he stared out the window, looking confused. "Vince, I gotta call you back."

"What's that about?" Felicity asked as he hung up. "Was that…" she trailed off as Chase hurried out of the door – spotting what he had and hurrying after him.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked as Stephanie loaded her son and a bag into her car.

"I'm taking Todd to the hospital," Stephanie told him, trying to walk around him. "He needs to get checked out after that seizure."

"We can do that," Felicity assured her. "The team will be here shortly."

"No," Stephanie told her, giving her a smile which looked forced. "Hospital's quicker. Make yourself at home. We won't be long."

"They really won't be long," Felicity told Stephanie.

Before Mrs Rouse could give her another excuse, Chase spoke up, addressing her son. "We found your bracelet, Todd. You were with Sean, weren't you?"

Felicity's mouth hovered open. "Absolutely not," Stephanie cut in. "Todd's not allowed to see Sean."

"Mum," Todd said, trying to get her attention.

Stephanie ignored him. "Todd lost his bracelet last week," Stephanie told Chase. "So if your team found it I-"

"Mum! Stop it!" Todd shouted. "I was with Sean. We came over this dune to fast and stacked it."

"Todd."

Todd looked to Felicity, ignoring his mum. "He was bleeding and everything. I was running for help when I saw you."

"Todd, that's enough!" his mother snapped.

"Mum, I'm not a kid," Todd pointed out.

"Yes, you are," Stephanie informed him. "You're my kid and I'm not letting Graham Cooper get his hands on you." She grabbed him, opening the door. "Now get in the car."

After sharing a look with Felicity, Chase stepped forward. "Mrs Rouse, Todd's been in a serious accident. He could have concussion, whiplash –"

"That is nothing compared to what Graham Cooper could do to him!" Stephanie cried, pushing him in the car.

Felicity took a couple of steps closer. "But he's done nothing wrong!"

Chase slowly shook his head. "You were driving the buggy?" he realised, asking Todd.

There was a very long pause. "Sean's dead, isn't he?" Todd asked, hesitantly. When no one could give him the answer he wanted to hear, he started to cry.

"Todd darling, it's alright," his mother assured him, leaning into the car to hug him. "It was an accident." The four of them heard the growl of the ute engine at the same time, but it was Stephanie who realised who the truck belonged to. "Graham's here," she said, horrified. "He knows. Get out of the car," she urged her son, half dragging him out of the car.

"Stephanie wait," Chase called after her as they hurried into the house. "I will talk to him."

Stephanie shook her head. "No, you don't know him. He'll have a gun. If he finds Todd he will kill him." She turned to Todd. "Get inside now."

Chase looked over at Felicity. "Get inside too."

"And leave you out here with a crazy guy with a gun?" Felicity asked eyes wide. "Like that's going to happen," she told him as Graham pulled up, leaping from his truck.

"Mr Cooper is it?" Chase asked, trying to get between him and the house.

"Out of my way," Graham snarled at him.

Felicity stepped forward, holding her hands up. "Just wait-" her sentence ended with a small squeal as she was flung to one side.

"There's no need for that!" Chase snapped at him. Before either of them knew what was coming, Chase was lying on the ground, having bounced off the ute, unconscious from Graham's fist.

"Chase!" Felicity cried, dropping down beside him, shaking him gently until his eyes flickered open. "Chase?"

"I'm alright," he muttered, brushing her away as he pulled himself to his feet, staggering slightly. "Where did he go?"

"Inside," Felicity informed him.

"Stay out here," Chase told her.

"Not likely," Felicity scoffed, hurrying after him into the house.

They could hear Graham angrily shouting from somewhere within the building as they ducked into the kitchen, looking for Todd and Stephanie. "Chase! Felicity!" they heard Stephanie hiss. Chase took a couple of steps backwards, discovering a hidden nook with the two hiding in it. "Get him out of our house, please."

"Just stay there," Chase whispered, pulling Felicity into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Lara sat in the passenger seat of the Rescue vehicle, tapping her pen against the paperwork she was far too distracted to actually complete. With a frustrated sigh, she dropped the pad on the seat next to her, looking up. With little more than luck, her gaze fell on Heidi and Jordan quickly enough to see them kiss. "No," she muttered in surprise. It took seconds for the surprise to be replaced by a happy grin. Heidi had had a crush on Jordan for, well, it would be a couple of years now.<p>

And if Heidi could act on it, then so could she. Because Heidi wasn't the only one who'd had a crush for a while now. With her mind set, she got out of the car, shutting the door firmly, and was about to head straight for Dean, when Heidi's question stopped her.

"Hey, isn't that that cop? What's her name?"

Lara turned, frowning as a red 4x4 pulled up. "Zoe," she responded, shortly.

"Is this an official visit?" Jordan asked.

"I don't know," Lara frowned, watching Zoe approach Dean. She barely heard Heidi asking Jordan if he had been a bad boy – under normal circumstances, she would have had a witty retort to that. Instead, she inched closer to Dean and Zoe.

"Hi," Zoe smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked, slowly.

Zoe shrugged. "I just finished my shift and I heard the call out on my radio. I thought I'd come and see how you were?"

"Oh, well, you didn't have to do that," Dean responded.

"I live in Kurnell, so I haven't gone miles out of my way, or anything?" she said, quickly.

Dean blinked. "Okay."

"So," said, giving him a bright smile. "How are you holding up?"

"Yeah, um, you know," Dean shrugged, awkwardly.

"Kids, huh?" Zoe attempted.

"Yeah," Dean muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Zoe sighed. "Sorry, this is weird. Maybe I shouldn't have come down."

"It's not weird. It's not," Dean lied. "Thanks for coming." His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, frowning as he failed to recognise the number. "Hello…? Chase? I haven't forgotten about you," he assured him, turning away from Zoe. "Graham Cooper? He went home to see his wife…" He turned back to Zoe, hanging up. "You bring your gun?"

Zoe shook her head, frowning. "No. It's at home, why?" she asked, chasing after Dean as he hurried to the Rescue truck.

"What's going on?" Lara asked.

"Graham's gone to see Stephanie and Todd Rouse," Dean told her.

"Who are they?" Lara asked, blinking.

"The kid Chase and Felicity ran over," Dean told her, already hurrying around to the driver's side. "You, Heidi and Jordan should carry on packing up."

"I'm going with you," Lara informed him, only just refraining from shooting Zoe a filthy look as she slipped into the front seat before the police officer could. "Heidi and Jordan can pack up."

* * *

><p>"Wha-" Before Felicity could ask Chase what his brother had said, he had clamped his hand over her mouth, holding a single finger up to his own. Wide eyed, Felicity nodded.<p>

Behind them, Graham was busy storming around, knocking things to the ground. "Come out you little prick!" he bellowed, before disappearing into another room.

"We've got to get him out of the house," Felicity hissed. "It's not going to take him long to find them."

Chase nodded. "Mr Cooper?" he called. "Listen to me. You've got to go. The cops are on their way!"

"Yeah, right," Graham yelled back.

"Look, stay here," Chase whispered to Felicity. Felicity shook her head, grabbing his hand and refusing to let go. "Now is not the time to be brave."

"Chase, I'm terrified," she admitted in a whisper. "I don't want to be left alone, and I don't want you facing him alone, alright?"

Chase nodded. Felicity's hands were cold in his, and he was certain he didn't have the time to be prying her fingers from him. "Fine," he conceded. "But you stay behind me." He glanced over the top of counter. "Come on." He stood up as Graham came into the room. "Seriously, Mr Cooper, the cops have been called," his hands in the air.

"Whatever," Graham snarled, yanking his arm out of Chase's reach.

"Look it was an accident," Chase tried to tell him.

"Did Stephanie tell you that, did she?" Graham demanded angrily, before storming out of the house.

"Chase, we need to keep him out of the house," Felicity told him, urgently.

Chase nodded. "I know. If he gets his hands on Todd," he trailed off, looking worried.

"Chase, Felicity!" Stephanie hissed at them.

"Just sit tight," Chase whispered back, before he turned to Felicity. "We'll keep him out, but if he pulls a gun on us, we're letting him in. We can't treat anyone if we're injured."

"I'm not arguing," Felicity nodded, sounding braver than she felt. Together, they went outside. Graham was busy looking in the various outbuildings, yelling all sorts of insults. Finally, after kicking and denting Stephanie's car, he stormed back towards the house. "Todd, show yourself!"

Chase and Felicity both stepped in front of him. "You're not going back in the house," Chase told him, firmly.

"This has nothing to do with you," Graham snarled at him, before trying to shove him out of the way. Felicity, lunged forward, keeping Chase upright, exceedingly thankful to have spotted a Rescue truck hurtling up the road to them.

Chase stood his ground, pushing him back. "You're not going back inside the house!" he told Graham as his brother leapt from the truck, followed closely by Lara and a police woman.

"You okay?" Dean asked Chase and Felicity.

"This is a matter between me and this family!" Graham yelled, rounding on Dean.

Zoe stepped forward, holding her badge up. "Sir, I suggest you get back in the ute and drive away."

"And I suggest you go in there and arrest that little prick for leaving my son to die," Graham suggested, angrily.

"No, Graham, that's not true," Stephanie declared, appearing from the house and hurrying over to them. "Todd, he was going for help, wasn't he?" she said, looking to Felicity and Chase for confirmation, as the two of them, with Dean made sure they stayed between her and the grieving father.

"He was, Graham," Chase agreed, while Felicity nodded.

"I just wanna talk to him, okay?" Graham said, addressing Stephanie. "I have a right to know what happened."

"Mr Cooper, just calm down, alright," Dean told him.

"Todd had a fit whilst he was driving," Stephanie explained. "He can't be blamed for that."

"Stephanie, he killed my little boy!" Graham cried in anguish.

"Stephanie, why don't you go back into the house?" Lara suggested.

"Go on," Felicity agreed as Stephanie turned to her. Stephanie looked like she wanted to stay, but nodded and returned back inside.

"Mr Cooper, you need to go home," Dean suggested, calmly, trying to distract him. "You need to go home and be with your wife."

"That kid has been trouble from the get-go. I should have never let him hang out with the little prick." Angrily, he stormed back to his vehicle and drove off, tyres squealing.

Just as Felicity was about to let out a sigh of relief, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. "He's gone," she told Stephanie. "But you really should stay-"

"Todd's gone," Stephanie said, cutting her off.

"What?" asked Dean, turning his attention over to them.

"He's taken off into the dunes," Stephanie told him.

Chase and Felicity shared a look. "He's had seizures plus who knows what other injuries from the accident," Chase said.

While Chase led Stephanie back towards the house, Dean was already on the radio. "Rescue One Portable to Rescue Base. We need to set up a search of the dunes, Vince."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you turned down the opportunity of driving a quad bike," Felicity said, still a little surprised at Chase's choice.<p>

"There'll be other opportunities," he shrugged. "Although, if you had agreed to head back to base then maybe I wouldn't have had to."

"My ankle is feeling better," Felicity sighed. "I might not be good for abseiling, but I can still carry a bag and treat a patient. And I can also drive on it."

Chase shook his head. "Lara's in a mood, anyway."

"We saw her for all of thirty seconds," Felicity told him in amazement. "How in God's name could you possibly tell that she was in a mood?"

"Too many years being stuck in a car with her and Dean. You'll learn" Chase sighed.

"In a mood about what?" she asked, curiously.

Chase shrugged. "Like hell I know. I'm not that good."

"Well you could have let me go with Dean and the random police officer," she suggested.

"You mean Zoe?" Chase asked her.

"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. "Is she not so random?"

Chase frowned. "We attended a scene where she helped out. But that was a couple of weeks before you arrived."

"Dean's new girlfriend?" Felicity suggested.

Chase shook his head, pulling a face. "Nah. I doubt it. And why are you so anxious to not be in the car with me?"

"Well, you did crash the bike twice this morning," she pointed out, with a grin. "I'm not sure how much I rate my chances on the third time. You might get lucky."

"How lucky?" he shot back with his own grin, causing Felicity to laugh.

"_Officer Holme has requested backup from Kurnell LAC_," Vince's voice interrupted them_. "In the meantime, stay well clear of Graham Cooper. Deano reckons he's armed, and I'd say dangerous given his state."_

"Copy that, Vince," Felicity responded, her mood instantly sobering. "Oh, the joy. Armed lunatic," Felicity muttered dryly.

"I can still take you back to base," Chase offered, sending her a sideways glance.

Felicity snorted. "Nope. We'll lose time, and frankly, I'd rather we found Todd and then got the hell out of Dodge."

"_Rescue Command to all units. Todd has been located. He's in a worker's shack just outside the park."_

Felicity reached for the map, folding it over so she could examine the right section of the map. "We're close," she told him, finding the location and radioing it through to Lara, Heidi and Jordan who were somewhere behind them on the quad bikes. It took them a mere few minutes to swing the truck in the right direction and arrive at dilapidated old hut. Chase had barely killed the engine before he had leapt from the car and charged into the house.

"Todd, are you in here? Todd? It's Chase."

Felicity hurried in after him, the sound of the quad bikes nearing them, to find Chase supporting Todd's head as he lay fitting on the ground. "Chase, is he okay?"

Chase nodded. "Yeah." He looked up as Heidi, Lara and Jordan joined them. "He's having another seizure, but he's coming out of it now."

Heidi was straight on her knees beside Todd, shining her torch into his eyes. "He's out."

"This isn't just epilepsy," Chase muttered. "Jordan? Support him. Heidi, airways," Chase instructed. He got up and took the bag Felicity was offering him, hurrying back to his patient.

"Recue 6 Portable to Rescue 1 Portable," said Felicity, watching Chase as Todd slowly started to come around. "Todd's at the shack. He's unconscious following a grand mal seizure. Suspect concussion with a possible aneurism. Request immediate evacuation."

"_Copy that Flick, we're on our way," _Dean responded.

"Better?" Chase asked Todd, helping upright. "Dean's coming to get you in the patrol."

Todd shook his head. "Mum says to stay here."

"You can't hide from this, mate," Jordan told him.

"It's not my fault," Todd muttered, refusing to look anywhere other than his lap.

"That's what your mum told you," Chase pointed out. "Doesn't sound like you believe it – were you smoking dope before you stacked it? That's got to play havoc with your meds."

"Like your seizures," Jordan added.

"Bloody epilepsy. Doctors say I'll never get a licence. I just wanted to drive," he explained, a hint of pleading to his tone. With an anguished sob, he broke down and started crying. "I just killed my best friend."

Felicity bit her lip before dropping down beside him and wrapping her arms around him, gently rubbing his back.

"Heidi, Lara, will you guys go get a backboard?" Chase asked them. They quickly disappeared, returning a short while later with Dean and Zoe. Felicity stood back, allowing Jordan and Chase to help him onto the stretcher, and instead discreetly watched Lara and Dean.

As far as she could tell, they were behaving exactly as they had earlier at Todd's house, which didn't seem that different from usual. Sure, they weren't exactly laughing and joking, but that was probably due to the fact that Graham Cooper was likely to appear again. If Chase was certain something was up between them, well, she had no idea how he'd managed to establish that.

"Okay, I think we're ready to get out of here," Chase declared, as he, Jordan, Lara and Heidi lifted Todd up, strapped to the stretcher.

They had taken only a couple of steps towards the door when they heard the roar of an engine hurtling down the track. "Flick, check that out," Dean instructed as he halted the others.

Felicity nodded and headed outside to find Graham heading straight for them. Eyes wide, she darted back into the shack. "It's Graham."

"He must have heard us on the scanner," Lara muttered as Todd started to panic.

"It's alright, you're going to be okay," Heidi tried to reassure Todd. "Chase, we need to get him out of here."

Felicity glanced around, ignoring Dean and Zoe as they bickered over who was or wasn't going outside to stop the grieving father. Her gaze fell on a back door, half hidden behind a broken bookshelf. "Lara," she called, trying to move the furniture out of the way. Lara was over in an instant, the two of them pushing it out of the way.

While Dean headed out the front door, and Chase and Jordan were helping Todd to the back door, Zoe was on her phone requesting back up.

All of sudden, a loud gunshot rang out. Jordan pushed Chase and Todd out of the door, leaving Felicity to shut it behind them. Felicity turned, surprised to find that everyone else had disappeared out front. Anxious to join them, she took a step towards the front door, only to leap backwards with a scream as Graham burst in, pointing his gun.

"Where is he?" Graham bellowed. And then he pulled the trigger.

* * *

><p><em>I know, I know. There's not enough Dean and Lara, and Heidi and Jordan barely made an appearance, but for love nor money could I get my muse to cooperate in this chapter.<em>

_meddrama - Well I'm glad you found it - thank you!_

_elightate - Thank you!_

_SarahSoph - LOL, I have been sat on the fence for a very long time with Dean & Lara, but I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that I do indeed love that ship. Therefore, and it may take a while, they will end up together! Stalker situation has involved the police now, but I think we're getting somewhere with it (at the risk of jinxing it!)_

_MMC gang - Aw, thank you!_

_RescueLover - I really love them two as well, but I really struggle to write them without them being OOC (the amount of times I've written something and deleted it...) But I do ship them, so it will be in here!_


	12. Gunshots and Fairgrounds

_Final spoliers for The Dunes..._

_Well, as I didn't have a DJing gig this weekend, I sat down and re-read the previous chapters... I'm so sorry for the sucky spelling - there are actually words _missing_ in some paragraphs. I'm going to have to go back and rectify that.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 12: Gunshots and Fairgrounds**

Felicity let out another scream as the pellets from the shotgun sent the glass in the window exploding everywhere. Graham let out a roar of frustration and stormed back out of the front door. She didn't even wait to make sure he was gone before she had wrenched open the door she had been cowering against and ran after Chase and Todd.

"Chase!" she called, catching him up.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. "You should have stayed with the others. It would have been safer."

"Let's argue about that later," Felicity told him. "It's not going to take him long to work out where we are," she added, ducking under Todd's other arm to give him some more support.

"_Chase? Do you copy?"_ Dean's voice came blasting out of the radio. "_Chase? Flick? One of you answer your bloody radio!"_

"Dean, stay off air, he's listening to us," Chase told him, urgently.

"_Chase, hide. He's coming for you!"_

"We need to get off the track," Chase told them, leading them to the lower ground, behind the bushes. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting Graham's ute before he heard it. "Down, down!" he cried, pulling them to the ground – just in time as the ute soared past them.

"He's gonna kill me," Todd whimpered.

"He's not," Felicity tried to assure him. "He's just-" she was cut off by a gunshot and the sound of a vehicle crashing.

Chase and Felicity glanced at each other, their faces mirroring the alarm the other had. "Stay here," Chase instructed Todd, as he and Felicity scrambled back up the banking.

"What are you doing? It's a trap!" Todd exclaimed, grabbing at Felicity to pull her back.

"Shit!" Felicity roared as she fell backwards, feeling her ankle go underneath her.

"Felicity!" Chase cried. "Are you alright?"

"It's just my ankle," Felicity told him, waving him away. "Go see to Graham. I'll be there in a minute." As Chase nodded and disappeared, she allowed her head to fall back against the sand. "Damnit," she muttered, balling her fists up and slamming the ground. "Go help him," she instructed Todd.

"But he's going to kill me."

"Stay here with me and I'll kill you," Felicity lied, hoping Todd would believe her. He did. As soon as he was over the top, she rolled over and pulled herself up the banking, limping over to where Chase was busy working on Graham – Todd hovering over them.

"He's hurt, I need you down here," Chase told her.

"My ankle's not going to get me down there," Felicity told him. She turned to Todd. "It's going to have to be you."

"He's not coming anywhere near me!" Graham roared.

"Todd, get down here!" Chase ordered. "Or he's going to die."

"No!" Graham objected. "Keep him away from me – he killed my son – murderer!"

Thankfully, Todd, although hesitant, ignored him and made his way down to Chase who handed him some gloves. "Put these on. Pressure on here. You need to let him help you or he could bleed out and die... you got this?"

Felicity sank to the ground, catching the radio as Chase tossed it to her. "Dean, me, Chase and Todd are okay. Graham cooper's okay. He's run his car off the road and taken a gunshot wound to the thigh. There could be arterial damage. We're going to need a hand here."

"_Flick, I am glad to hear your voice,"_ Dean told her. "_Sit tight – we'll be right there."_

* * *

><p>Felicity lay on the back seat of the Patrol vehicle, the door open and her head hanging out. She knew she should make a move – get a shower and cleaned up, but they had pulled into the station and she had stupidly lay down... and now she didn't want to move. At least she managed to lie down so that she could watch Chase apologise to Michelle. Although she was paying more to the mutterings of Heidi and Jordan – and their plans for the evening.<p>

"You're grinning," Lara informed her from front seat.

Felicity looked up and caught the blonde's eye in the rearview mirror. "I'm just happy that is over and done with," Felicity told her.

"Uh huh," Lara agreed, swirling around in the seat so her feet were resting on the truck's running boards. "Only two showers, guys," she said to Heidi and Jordan as they walked past her. "Looks like two of us will have to share."

"That's cool. I'm going to grab one at home," Jordan told her.

"Yeah, me too," Heidi hurriedly agreed.

Lara watched as the pair of them all but jumped on each other, unable to suppress a grin. "I knew it!" she muttered. She swivelled back in her seat, still grinning, and again caught Felicity's eye. "You knew," she said, suspiciously.

Felicity swung herself around into an upright position and groaned as she got out of the car. Pausing in front of the car, she shrugged. "It's neither nowt nor summat," she grinned. "An' ah'll tell thee that fer nowt." Upon seeing Lara's puzzled expression, she turned on her (good) heel, and made for the changing room.

"I have no idea what she just said," Lara muttered to herself, softly shaking her head. Deciding it was time she headed home – the paperwork could be finished the next day, she jumped out of the car. She turned to head upstairs, but something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Curiosity piqued, she took a couple of steps to the door, peering outside, and realised it had been the light reflecting off Zoe's badge. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she didn't want to be watching. Not so much that she was worried about encroaching on something that she shouldn't, but more that she knew she wasn't going to like what she saw.

"What are you doing now?" Dean was asking Zoe.

Zoe smiled. "Going home."

"Want some company?" Dean offered, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

The smile went from friendly to flirty and Zoe leant forward, kissing him. "Not tonight. But I'll let you know when the mood strikes."

Dean took a step back, cocking his head. "Why do I feel used?"

"I'm sure you'll get over it," Zoe laughed. "Call me. I'll answer this time."

Lara watched, unable to move, as Dean walked Zoe to her car, before kissing her goodbye. She blinked, rapidly. Then, suddenly aware he was about to turn and head her way, she found her feet and darted back into the safety of the station, almost running into Heidi.

"Are you alright?" Heidi asked, tilting her head as she considered her friend. "You look upset?"

"Upset?" Lara repeated. "Nah." She shook her head, forcing a smile. "You're off? By yourself?"

"Of course," Heidi replied. "Who would you think I was leaving with?"

"I don't know," Lara shrugged. "It's just that you've been happy lately. I'm beginning to wonder if you've got a secret man you're not telling us."

"Hardly," Heidi scoffed. "But I need to get going," she added hurriedly, turning on her heel. "See you tomorrow, Lara!" she called over her shoulder. She swung her bag over her shoulder and set off with a skip, down the drive. "Bye Dean!" she yelled as she passed him. She was around the corner and halfway down the next street, humming a Beyonce song to herself, when a bright green car pulled up alongside her.

"Excuse me, but I'm a little lost," the driver called over to her.

"I'm sorry but I don't talk to strangers," she returned, barely acknowledging the driver as the car crawled alongside her.

"Now that's a little mean," the driver told her with a pout.

Heidi turned abruptly, the car stopping with her, and she cocked her hip, sticking her hand on it. "Alright, where are you trying to get to?"

The driver grinned. "A girl's heart."

"Chocolates are usually a good way to go," she suggested.

"I'd try that, but she doesn't speak to strangers, so I'm fairly certain she won't take chocolate from them."

Heidi chewed at her lip, trying not to smile. "Flowers might work?"

"They might, if she didn't have hay fever," the driver returned.

Heidi let out a melodramatic sigh. "Well, in that case, I think you're out of luck, because the only other way to a girl's heart is with a diamond."

"I've heard that," the driver agreed. "But I think it's a little more than my pay packet can handle. I do however have this," he pulled a smallish box out of his pocket and held it up. "Can I get your opinion?"

There was no holding back the grin as Heidi jumped in the car with an excited squeal, pulling the box from Jordan. She opened it, finding a silver bracelet waiting for her. "Jord – it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What have I done to deserve this?" she asked, peering up at him.

"I didn't think I needed a reason to buy my girlfriend a gift, but if you don't want it," Jordan started, reaching for the box.

Heidi jerked her hand out of the way and slipped the bracelet on her arm. "I never said I didn't want it," she told him hurriedly. "I love it. Thank you."

"So, your place or mine?" Jordan asked with a cheeky grin.

Heidi glanced over a him, licking her lips. "Yours is closer."

* * *

><p>"You're still here?" came Chase's voice, breaking her from her thoughts.<p>

Felicity looked up over the top of her computer and found Chase watching her. "I was talking to my sister on Skype."

"Sorry," Chase apologised. "I will leave you two alone."

Felicity shook her head. "She's gone. She had to take her kids to school."

Chase shifted his weight onto his other foot. "Waiting for Mr Superstar then? What's his excuse this time?"

"His name is Cole," Felicity sighed, wearily. "And no, I am not waiting for him. He has gone out with some of the lads to the Ambassador Club."

"You know that's a strip club, right?" Chase asked, sitting down next to her. "With lap dances."

"Clearly you do," Felicity chuckled. "And yes, I'm aware. He _can_ look."

"_I bet he wouldn't let you look_," Chase thought. He frowned. "He's gone out? Does he know what happened today?" he asked, watching as Felicity rubbed at her arm. "Are you alright?"

"My ankle is feeling better already," she assured him. "And yes he knows. It's just a twist – I told him not to worry and enjoy himself."

"Then why are you sitting here alone, instead of at home?" he pointed out.

Felicity sighed and stared out the window. "I guess I wasn't in the mood for going home yet."

"You want to come to the pub? Dean and Vince are already there?"

Felicity closed her eyes, picturing an evening with lots of talking and shook her head. "I don't think I'm in the mood."

Suddenly, Chase stood up. "I have an idea. You're coming with me."

Felicity looked up at him, dubiously. "Do I need to change?"

Chase glanced down at the shorts and vest top and shook his head. "You're fine. Come on." He waited for her to follow and led her to her car. "Alright, Dean took the truck."

Felicity arched her eyebrows in amusement. "Is this just a ploy to let you drive?" she asked, handing over the keys.

"Actually, I was going to say I'd direct you," Chase told her, snatching the keys from her. "But I am not saying no to driving this."

Felicity sighed and got in the car. "Don't lord it over Jordan."

"You won't let Jordon drive it?" Chase asked, surprised.

"No, because with driving comes parking, and I've heard all about that," Felicity explained. "Besides, Cole would kill me if I got a scratch on it. Just be careful with it."

Chase didn't doubt that for one moment. They drove in silence – mainly because Chase was enjoying driving the car, but finally, he pulled off onto a dirt parking lot.

Felicity whirled around to face him. "The fair?"

"I'm guessing you never got to go," Chase started to explain, but stopped when Felicity leant over and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you," she told him, an excited smile already on her face. She got out of the car and turned to stare at the rides and stalls lighting up the night sky. She let out an excited squeal and started to dash off to the entrance, stopping only when she remembered Chase. "Sorry," she cried, turning to wait.

"What do you want to do first?" Chase asked, amused.

"Coconut toss!" Felicity exclaimed loudly, spotting the stall. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over. Ten minutes later, she and Chase were each holding a bag with a goldfish swimming in it.

"You'd best have Robin," Chase told her, looking at his goldfish. "I don't know how impressed Dean will be if I bring a pet home."

"Robin?" Felicity asked, pulling a face.

"To go with Batman," Chase told her. "Look, he has a pattern of a bat on his side in the scales."

Felicity peered in at the fish swimming about in her bag. "I don't know about a bat sign." She brought the bag back down, ready to argue it looked more like a W (at a push), when her eyes spotted something. "A panda," she whispered.

"It looks nothing like a panda," Chase told her.

"No," Felicity shook her head, pointing. "A panda."

Chase followed the direction her finger was pointing in and frowned. "You know that game is rigged, right."

"I don't care," Felicity called at him, practically skipping over to the stall and paying for the game.

While she was busy trying to throw rings that would never fit over bottles, Chase pulled the attendant to one side. "Alright, how much is it going to cost you to let her win one of those giant pandas?"

"One hundred," the man told him without missing a beat.

"Seriously?" Chase exclaimed. "You could get one from the store for ten."

"So go to the store and buy one," the guy shrugged, walking off.

"Wait!" Chase called, pulling his wallet out. "Fifty."

"One hundred."

"Eighty?" he offered, desperately.

"I hope she turns out to be a really good lay," the man muttered, taking the money off him.

"It's not like that," he muttered, before re-joining Felicity. "How are you doing?"

"Just paying for another game," Felicity told him, handing over some more money. "Here, you help," she said, handing over half of the rings. Between them, the rings went everywhere but the over the bottles. "Ah, crap," Felicity muttered. She turned to the attendant, smiling brightly. "So, what will it cost for a giant panda?"

The attendant shrugged. "Normally won't let them go for less than fifty, but for you, it will cost you a kiss."

"Sounds like a fair deal," Felicity laughed, climbing over the booth to plant a kiss on the guy with an overly dramatic "Mwah." Armed with a teddy, she returned to Chase, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "What's up with you?" she asked.

"Nothing," Chase muttered, grumpily.

"Come on, I'll get you some cotton candy," she smiled, hoisting the bear up onto her hip so her hand could carry the goldfish. With her free arm, she linked it through Chase's and steered him in the direction of the nearest refreshment stall.

Finally, hours later, there was only one ride left. The Ferris wheel. "You want to go on it?" Chase asked as they drew near.

"You don't mind?" Felicity asked, eyeing the ridiculously long queue.

Chase shook his head. "Wait here." He disappeared to the front of the queue, returning moments later. "We get to cut," he told her, leading her through the crowd and straight to the front, much to her amazement.

"How did you do that?" she asked, over the top of the bear's head which wasseparating the two of them.

"The last time I was on this ride, I was climbing up the side of it," Chase explained. "Someone had jammed the motor."

"Well that was stupid," Felicity muttered, somewhat irritated at the fact.

Chase shrugged. "She'd been attacked – she was trying to get away from her attacker and took shelter in there. Can't say I blame her."

"Oh, well I feel like an ass," Felicity muttered, awkwardly.

"What?" asked Chase, peering around the panda.

Felicity grabbed the bear and yanked it free, then squishing up to Chase, stuck it on the other side of her. The fish went under the panda's feet, and she swung her feet around. "That's better." She glanced at Chase, suddenly feeling as awkward as he looked. Unable to think of anything to stay, she stared out across fairground. "Why is this awkward?" she asked eventually.

"I don't know," Chase replied, drumming his fingers against his leg.

Felicity sighed, turning to face Chase, only to find him watching her. She blinked, surprised to find her heart pounding against her ribcage as he leant in towards her. And she nearly didn't stop him.

Nearly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, dumbly, just as his lips were centimetres from hers.

Chase paused. "Felicity, I like you. _Really_ like you," he told her.

"Chase, I'm engaged," she muttered, surprising herself by how disappointed she sounded at that.

Chase scowled, pulling away. "Of course. Mr Superstar. How could I forget him?"

"Don't," she told him, grabbing his hand. "Please? I've had a lovely evening. Please don't spoil it. Can we just forget that happened?"

"What if I don't want to forget it?" Chase asked, stubbornly.

"I'm engaged," she repeated in a whisper.

"Fine," he conceded, glumly. "It never happened."

* * *

><p>The ride home was awkward, having resorted to talking about work and the latest changes to the procedure. Part of Chase was glad when Felicity dropped him off at Dean's. Until he discovered Dean watching him as he emptied the bin.<p>

"What have you two been up to?" Dean asked him, suspiciously, catching Flick's expression as she drove off.

"Nothing," Chase replied, walking straight past him.

"Chase, she's engaged," Dean called after him.

"I'm well aware of that," Chase called back, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Felicity unlocked her door and walked in, making it all the way to the kitchen to put the fish on the top before turning the light on. She turned back around, and dropped the bear with a small scream. "Cole! You scared me!" she cried.<p>

"Where have you been?" Cole asked, quietly from his position on the sofa.

"Chase took me to the fair," Felicity told him, shutting and locking the door. She wandered back into the kitchen and began rooting through the cupboards. "Do we have anything resembling a goldfish bowl?" she asked.

"Chase took you to the fair?" Cole repeated slowly.

Felicity pulled her head out of the cupboard, a mixing bowl in her hand, to find Cole standing over her, his fists clenched. Carefully, she got to her knees and moved over to the sink, running the water. "Yeah. I needed to relax after today and you were going out. It was a bit of fun with a friend," she told him.

"Of course," Cole muttered, disbelievingly. "And what else did you and _Chase_ do?"

Felicity sighed. "Cole, I'm not having this conversation with you again. Just because I work with men doesn't mean I'm sleeping with them. I don't go accusing you of sleeping with that PR woman, so why can't you just trust me when I say there is nothing happening with me and anyone I work with?"

All of a sudden, water exploded all over her. It took two seconds for her to realise one of the goldfish had been launched at the window over the sink, the fish lying limply on the windowsill. Felicity whirled around, eyes wide, to find Cole towering over her, his nostrils flaring.

"And what else did you and _Chase_ do?" he demanded through gritted teeth.

"Nothing," Felicity told him, backing into the corner. "We just played a few games!"

"I'm sure you did!" Cole snapped.

The next thing Felicity knew, she was slumped against the wall, and Cole had stormed out.

* * *

><p><em>Righto, so first of all they tell me Rescue is being axed. Then they break Heidi and Jordan up... I tell you what, if Lachie isn't in the last episode I will head to Australia myself and set my nearly trained rabbit on someone! And even if the writers can't manage it, I will have Dean and Lara together. I'm just trying to work out how much I like Zoe... Actually, let's let you decide - how much do you like Zoe?<em>

_Miss Deeds - I want Lara and Dean. The muse want's me to write Dean and Zoe. I think my plan is to write it and not post it, then we can move into happier times in a world where they are finally together. I think it has the potential to turn into something really long..._

_MMC gang - YES! :)_

_Asha331 - lol - and now you know! But I'm happy you enjoyed!_

_retardedgazelle - I'm sorry for the cliffhanger :s Hopefully, this chapter will still be in character, especially for Chase, but I figure he's a rather impulsive soul. I just know I wouldn't have had as much restraint as Felicity._

_Rescuelover - Can I just say, your review really made me smile. Thank you! But yay to officially joining fanfiction!_


	13. You Went and Jinxed It

_Righto – there will now be some spoilers for 3x14: Chemical Brothers. Not in as much detail as Dunes, but they will be there! (I've decided I want Lachie in here!)_

_Mistakes are all mine. I did spend the week going back and editing the previous chapters, so hopefully there aren't any anymore!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 13: You Went and Jinxed It.**

"Babe, you look like crap," Lara informed Felicity as she took a seat at her desk.

"I didn't sleep very well," Felicity told her, turning her computer on. "I couldn't get comfortable," she added.

"Again?" Lara sighed, patting her arm sympathetically. "Maybe you should ask Michelle for the day off."

"I'm fine," Felicity assured her, forcing a smile. "Besides, yesterday's report won't get finished in bed."

"And I'm going to need them by lunch," Michelle added as she passed by, disappearing into her office.

"Plus we seem to be down Dean today," Felicity shrugged. "With any luck it will be a nice, quiet day."

From across the way both Jordan and Heidi let out a loud groan. "Well now you've done it," Heidi told her. "Now today will be anything _but_ quiet."

"What are you complaining about?" Chase muttered, slinking in and taking his seat, looking anywhere but at Felicity.

"Flick has guaranteed we're going to have one hell of a day," Jordan explained, throwing a pen lid at Felicity.

Felicity sighed and pulled the pen lid from her lap, dropping it in the bin. "That's a load of crap," she told him. "You're statistically just as likely to have 'one hell of a day' on a day where you want a quiet day, but because you've mentioned the quiet day it sticks in your mind more. Moreover, judging from the Au de Booze you're sporting this morning, someone's hungover." She stood and made her way to the kitchen, setting the kettle boiling.

"Did I hear someone mention a quiet day?" Vince asked, stepping out of Michelle's office. Jordan and Heidi pointed over at Felicity. "Well done, Flickety-Split," Vince told her. "Looks like you're the one to jinx it. We've got a missing plane."

"Please tell me it's not gone down in the Blue Mountains," Jordan muttered, shooting an unimpressed look at Felicity.

"Not yet," Michelle informed them, heading to the map of the area. "Radar has it travelling along this path," she said, pointing out the flight path. She turned, and seeing everyone still watching her, clapped her hands. "Chop, chop. You're not going to find it by sitting here."

"I'll go out with them," Vince informed her as the rest of the team filed down the stairs. "No sense in calling Dean in on his day off unless we really need him."

"You know you've only just got that cast off, right?" Michelle asked, unable to stop herself from smiling. From the moment the cast had gone on, Vince had done nothing but complain.

"I'm very aware of that, Michelle, hence why I am not staying in here," Vince nodded.

Felicity trudged down the stairs, partly wishing she had stayed in bed. Downstairs she was confronted by the option of joining the back seat with Chase as Heidi and Jordan occupied the front, or the car with Lara and Vince. It was a no brainer, and ignoring the frowning face of Chase, she headed straight for the other car.

"Would have thought you'd want to be in the other car," Vince muttered as the black haired woman climbed in the back.

"Two teams of three made more sense to me," she shrugged, purposely diverting her attention out of the window.

"What's the matter, Felicity?" Lara asked her. "You've not really been yourself for the past couple of days."

Felicity puffed her cheeks out and looked forward to her car companions. "Me and Cole had an argument," she admitted.

"Ah," Lara nodded in understanding. "What did he do?"

"Now why do you always go to the conclusion that it's the man that's done wrong?" Vince asked.

"Because that's usually the case," Lara scoffed. "So what did he do?" she asked again, glancing back in the rear view mirror.

Felicity exhaled deeply. "He's pissed off I went to the fair with Chase."

Vince swivelled around in his seat to stare incredulously. "You and Chase?" he repeated, slowly. "As in, youngest, idiot, Gallagher brother?"

"There is no 'me and Chase'," Felicity told him, turning her attention back out of the window to look for any sign of the missing plane. "We're just friends."

"Really?" Vince asked, skeptically.

Felicity shot him a withering glare and held her left hand up. "I'm engaged," she told him. "You're as bad as Cole. And I'm not having this conversation with my boss," she added, shaking her head.

"You knock it, but I have the experience of several divorces under my belt," he told her.

"Oh that's optimistic," Lara laughed at him. "They're not even married yet and you're tarnishing them with the same brush as you."

"Can we just look for this plane?" Felicity pleaded.

Thankfully, Vince agreed and they drove around in silence, Felicity and Vince's eyes on the skies. The only sound was Michelle's voice occasionally updating them. Eventually, Vince picked up his radio. "Rescue One to Rescue Base. We're in the area now. Any word from air traffic control?"

"_Rescue Base, negative on that_," Michelle responded. "_They've being trying to raise the plane but they're getting no answer. Have you got a visual at all?"_

"Standby," Vince told her.

"Do you think the pilot's lost his radio?" Lara asked. "Maybe he had a heart attack."

"Didn't Michelle say they'd just lost him on radar?" Felicity asked. "That either means that he's flying under the radar and he's not far from coming down..."

"Or he's already down," Lara finished.

"Rescue One to Rescue Base, we can't see anything," Vince told Michelle.

"_Well keep trying. It's been twenty minutes since his transponder went off and five since they've lost him on radar. Rescue Base to Rescue Two. Heidi, have you got a visual on the plane?_"

"_Rescue Two – it's a negative," _Heidi replied.

"_Well let me know when you've got something," _Michelle instructed them.

Vince, watching the skies ahead, frowned. "You guys see the smoke too?" he asked.

Felicity peered forward and nodded. "Yup," she agreed.

"Rescue One to Rescue Base, we've got smoke one and a half clicks north of our position," Vince radioed in.

"_Copy that. That puts it around Russell Street_," she told them.

Vince glanced at Lara before radioing back. "Rescue One to Rescue Base. En route now."

Lara put her foot down as Vince flicked the lights and sirens on. They hurtled down the road towards the source of the smoke. As they approached a busy container yard, it wasn't hard to spot the bright yellow plane covered in flames.

"Rescue Seven portable to Rescue Base, the plane has gone down in a container yard," Vince updated Michelle as the three of them jumped out of the truck. "Repeat, the plane has gone down and it's burning heavily. It's white hot Michelle. No one can get anywhere near it."

"We need BAs and to evacuate straight away," Vince barked at them.

Lara nodded. "I'll set up a triage point over there," leading another injured party a safe distance away.

"I'll get the extinguishers!" Felicity yelled, running back to the truck.

"Flick, get all the fire extinguishers you can!" he ordered.

She had just given one to Vince when the plane exploded with an almighty bang, sending everyone, Vince and Felicity included, flying.

"Flick, are you alright?" Vince asked, helping her to her feet. At her nod, he turned his attention to the plane and a nearby extinguisher.

"That's not going to work," Felicity told him. "This place has got to have an onsite fire crew. I'm coming back, and I'm coming back with hoses!" she yelled, taking off.

She was right. They did have. Unfortunately, the ones who were trained to deal with the fire-fighting, were being treated by Rescue. Instead, Felicity busied herself barking orders at the nearest available free bodies, rolling out the hoses and taking the lead as the fire fighting instincts surfaced.

It took a while, but finally the fire was all but out. Leaving the men to tackle the few flames that were left, Felicity made her way to the plane, wrenching the door open. "What the hell?" she frowned, pulling her BA off. "Vince, you need to come see this!" she yelled over to her boss.

Vince made his way over and stuck his head in the plane's cabin. "Where's the pilot?" he asked Felicity.

"That would be the thing you need to see, or the lack of thing you need to see," she shrugged.

With a frown, Vince reached for his radio. "Rescue Seven portable, Michelle, are you there?"

"_Rescue Base, go ahead, Vince."_

"Uh, we've got a problem. There's no pilot," Vince told her.

There was a pause on the other end. "_Say_ _again_."

"There's no pilot," Vince repeated. "No body at the scene – nothing. When this plane went down, there was no one at the controls."

Leaving Vince to communicate with Michelle, half paying attention to the conversation over her radio, Felicity turned her attention to the two fire engines that had pulled up. "Marvellous," she muttered under her breath as she spotted Jake jumping out of the first engine. Taking a deep breath, she headed over. "I hate to break it to you boys, but the fire's already out," she informed them, nodding her head at the plane. "Your response time needs work."

"Well, you know," Jake shrugged. "If we didn't have to get through a building site to get to the engines, then maybe we would be a little quicker."

"Building work's underway?" Felicity asked in surprise.

"Yeah, well that's kinda needed when Rescue demolish half the station," Jake shot at her.

"Look, I wasn't driving that truck, and more to the point, it still would have hit your station if we hadn't been there," Felicity told him, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, more importantly, I may have got the fire out, but it looks like something flammable was spilt here when the plane crashed. We don't know what yet, but we'll keep you informed."

Feeling no need to spend any more time with Jake and the other fierys, Felicity headed back to the Rescue truck to grab a bag so she could help Lara in triage. Felicity looked thoughtfully at the empty fire extinguishers and sighed. If they were left there, the fierys were only going to collect them and claim them as their own.

She glanced back at the others. They seemed to have everything under control and it would only take a couple of minutes to lug the extinguishers back into the boot. She grabbed the first two and had them safely stowed away, and was turning to collect the next pair, when they were put in the boot for her. "Thank you," she said, following the arms up to the rather good looking dark haired guy who was helping her.

"My pleasure," he grinned. "You need help with the others?"

"Sure?" Felicity shrugged. "I'm not going to turn down someone doing all the heavy lifting for me..." she trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

"Felicity," he said.

Felicity shook her head. "No, that's my name."

"I know," he nodded, giving her a cheeky grin. "You're the ex-fiery from Leeds engaged to the superstar rugby player."

Felicity peered up at him, cocking her head. "Have we met before?" she asked, slowly. He _did _look familiar.

"Oh, Felicity, I'm hurt," he told her, his blue eyes sparkling.

"I'm sorry," Felicity apologised. "I haven't had the best night's sleep, and combined with the fact I'm something of a goldfish..." she trailed off at the face he was pulling and flushed. "You know: Oh, there's a castle, oh, there's a castle..." she gave him an awkward smile. "Ten second memory... memory like a goldfish?" When he did little more than chuckle at her, she rubbed her neck awkwardly. "I'm going to go that way," she muttered before walking away.

She was already kicking herself when she realised she was on a direct path for Dean and Chase. With the other option of turning and walking back in the other direction (and not only looking a bigger twit in front of the blue-eyed hunk who seemed to know her, but also to Dean and Chase who had now realised she was heading towards them) she continued over to them.

"Just wanted to see if you needed a hand?" she offered, although she was directing the question mainly at Dean.

Dean eyes her suspiciously, shooting a look at Chase, before shaking his head. "We've got it all over here."

"_Rescue Portable Seven to Rescue Portable Six: Flick, are you free?"_

Felicity had to restrain herself from letting out an audible sigh of relief – and she was certainly going to have to restrain from hugging Vince. "Rescue Portable Six. Where do you need me, Vince." She gave Dean a shrug. "I'll go see if Vince needs any help," she told him before quickly disappearing.

Dean let out an exasperated sigh and looked at his brother. "Whatever you've done, apologise," Dean hissed at him.

Chase looked down at his shorter brother and frowned. "I haven't done anything," Chase retorted.

Dean's expression was one of scepticism. "Flick has barely said two words to you since she dropped you off the other night. And you haven't stopped sulking."

"I am not sulking," Chase returned.

"Of course not," Dean said, shaking his head. "Just fix it, you moron," he told him, smacking him upside the head.

* * *

><p>"<em>Rescue Base to all units. Be advised: the ambos are reporting severe reactions in some of the transported workers. Based on the symptoms, we are revising our initial chemical identification. This is not solvent poisoning. I repeat: this is not solvent poisoning. We are dealing with a serious toxin here. Initiate protocols for hazardous materials.<em>"

Felicity took a few steps away from the patient she was treating. "Rescue Portable Six to Rescue Base, I've just left the fierys. They've confirmed that the spilt liquid was a solvent. It's not the cause of the toxin."

"_Copy that, Rescue Six."_

"I'll let the fierys know," she told them, cursing under her breath as she headed over to them again.

By the time she had briefed them _again_ and returned to the triage area, the others had returned with the site manager. "Did he make it?" she asked, hurrying over.

Vince shook his head. "No."

"Shit," she muttered, noting the disheartened expressions of her colleagues.

"Any word on what the hazardous material is?" Vince asked her, nodding his head in the general direction of the fire department.

"Nothing. Hospital's running the blood of the first casualties now. We've been going through paperwork, but it's that disorganised... I'm going to go back," she frowned, turning.

"Wait!" Vince ordered, stopping Felicity in her tracks.

Felicity turned. "What?"

"While you're here, you might as well get your shot of atropine," he told her.

"Oh, Vince," Felicity whined.

"Don't 'oh Vince' me," Vince told her, grabbing her by her shoulders. "Sit that scrawny butt down and get your shot."

"And to think I wanted to hug you earlier," Felicity muttered under her breath while Vince's back was turned.

"I don't know what you just said," Vince said, "But just remember I'm the one with the needle." He grinned and then jabbed the needle in her thigh.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh yes," Vince agreed. "Jordan, you're next."

"So if it wasn't paint thinner that killed him, what was it?" Jordan asked, taking the seat Felicity had vacated.

"Hospital doesn't know yet," Vince replied. He injected the drug then waved Heidi over.

"Where is it? That's what I want to know. We've searched every inch – ow!" she cried, sending Vince a murderous look.

"Want a jelly bean?" Vince asked her, grinning.

"It's got to be on that plane," Felicity said, thoughtfully.

"Come on," Jordan disagreed.

Felicity shook her head. "No, think about it. If there was something on board it could easily have vaporised in the explosion."

"She's right," Lara agreed. "Adam was by the plane when we got here, right? I bet the most toxic cases are the ones we pulled from there."

"We've got to find the pilot," Vince shrugged. "He'll know the toxin. Basically, the airport is point a. Point b is right here. Right, we'll start when we're done here."

"_Rescue Base to Rescue Portable Seven. Vince, what's your sit rep?"_

"Just wrapping up here, 'Chelle. About to start the S&R. Why?"

"_Can you send Flick back to base?"_

Felicity couldn't help but pull a face. "What have I done now?"

Vince shot her a look before responding. "Can it wait?"

"_Unfortunately, no," _Michelle replied.

Felicity grabbed her radio. "Michelle. You're going to need me near here to help with this S&R."

"_Just get back to base, now,"_ Michele told her in exasperation.

Felicity glanced at Vince. "Do _you_ know what I've done?" He just shrugged at her.

* * *

><p>Felicity traipsed up the stairs, slinging her jacket over her shoulder as she did so. Michelle was already waiting for her at the top. "Whatever I've done, I'm sorry," she blurted out.<p>

Michelle gave her a smile. "Technically, it's not what _you've_ done," she said, stepping to one side.

Felicity's mouth fell open at the sight before her. On just about every free inch of space in a three metre radius of her desk, there were bunches upon bunches of white roses. "Cole." Felicity realised, glancing at Michelle.

Michelle nodded, pointing at her office where the fiancé in question was waiting for her. "What are all these for?" she asked, walking over to him.

"It's my apology," Cole admitted. "I may have overreacted the other night."

"May?" Felicity blinked.

Cole nodded. "Alright, I did overreact the other night. I'm sorry, baby," he apologised.

"You hurt me," she told him in a low voice.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he repeated. "I promise you it will never happen again." Felicity stared up at him as he watched her hesitantly, and nodded. His relief was palpable as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "I have more gifts," he told her, releasing her.

"More?" Felicity asked, eyeing the flowers suspiciously. "It already looks like you bought a store out of their roses."

"Three, actually," Cole murmured, reaching for a large box on the table.

With her nose wrinkled in confusion, Felicity undid the extravagant bow and pulled the lid off. Inside, blinking up at her, was a silver tabby cat. Her mouth fell open. "It's adorable," she muttered, pulling him out and cradling in her arms.

"I know it's not a kitten, but I do listen to you when you say you've always preferred adoption. Plus, he's eight months old and already litter trained, and even better, I've been assured he won't use my furniture as a scratching post," Cole explained. "Do you like him?" he asked, watching as she giggled at the whiskers tickling her face.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, happily.

Cole put the box down. "I thought he could keep you company tonight, along with this," he reached into a bag and pulled out a bottle of strawberry wine. "And maybe you could invite your friends over. For a _girly_ night in. I even got you both of the _Sex and the City_ movies."

"Thanks," Felicity said, a small frown at the obvious dig at Chase. Regardless, it was a nice thought.

"I have my date tonight," he told her, misreading her expression. "You know, from the raffle."

"What do you mean another one died?" Michelle's angered voice interrupted them. "Have you not worked out what it is yet...? Well do you not think you should be working on it...? Thank you."

"I think I need to go," Felicity told Cole.

Cole nodded. "I'll take all this back to the apartment for you," he said, kissing her. "Be safe." He took the cat off her and popped him back in the box.

"Where do you need me, Michelle?" Felicity asked.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, massive rant time. The Last Episode... Brilliant episode, but a last episode? Is anybody else out there as disappointed as me at that? Firstly, Lara, you muppet - wrong brother. And if you don't want Dean (or Lachie, for that matter), move over! And speaking of Lara and Dean - that's a freaking cliff hanger, not a show finale. Heidi and Jordan - does that mean they're back together, or is that just another rush of adrenaline moment? Gah! I'm secretly hoping that this cancellation nonsense is just a very bad publicity stunt.<em>

_Okay, rant over. I want you all to know that I am having a truely sucky time at the moment, but the reviews and alerts - they really do bring a smile to my face! THANK YOU!_

_Miss Deeds - Well I get happy feelings when I get your review! It did have a lot riding on it. I spent all of Sunday thinking that maybe I didn't want to watch it. I'm glad I did. But, you know - see mini rant above!_

_MMC gang - My thoughts exactly! If I was out in Australia, I would boycott it. As it happens, I don't think they're going to miss me. (I'll just have to plan a wedding myself...)_

_Madison - Sorry, my dear, life has a habit of getting in the way, but I am trying to stick to my pledge of a chapter a week. If nothing else, they're long chapters! :) But I'm glad you're enjoying!_

_Rescuelover - I've just watched it. Now I want to write a story that puts right all the wrongs. I just wish I had the power to bring the show back! (If I become a Euro millionaire and win the ridiculous amount of money, I will finance the show myself! LOL) :P You make my day!_

_elightate - Why thank you very muchly! I'm trying to update sooner, I am :)_

* * *

><p><em>Oh! I forgot! Guys, I have a request. I need you guys to point me in the direction of some new music. I'm a DJ so I will honestly listen to anything (except Beiber - one less girl for the fans to fight with), and while I won't say no to anything, I'm thinking what I call TV episode music - the kind of thing you would find on a TV episode (surprisingly enough). Like Howie Day, Collide (my all time favourite), Lifehouse, You and I, or Placebo's version of Running Up That Hill... But seriously, I will listen to anything! Thanks all!<em>


	14. A Girly Night In

_We still have spoilers for Chemical Brothers - much smaller than the last chapter, but if you're still avoiding reading because you don't want the spoilers, you still don't want to be reading. There won't be any spoilers in the next chapter. Unless you count Lachie._

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 14: A Girly Night In**

"Michelle, I should get down there!" Felicity exclaimed, feeling completely helpless.

Michelle shot her a glare and covered the speaker of her headset with her fist. "Felicity, I've told you, you're not going anywhere. I do not have a spare rescue unit and by the time you get down there, they will have Jordan down." She uncovered her mouthpiece and sighed. "How did this happen, Vince? He took a dose of atropine, didn't he?"

"W_e all did. We weren't even sure he was exposed. And it was obviously not enough."_

Michelle nodded, more to herself, and glanced back at Felicity. "Just get him down. I'm going to try to get a chopper out to you."

"_Copy that_," Vince confirmed.

Michelle got up and paused. "And Vince? Watch the pilot. He's been exposed now too, yeah?"

"_Copy that. Out."_

"I want you to get yourself another dose of atropine," Michelle instructed Felicity.

"Michelle, I've already had a dose," Felicity protested. "I should be down there, helping."

"Jordan already had a shot too," Michelle pointed out. "Now get yourself over to that drugs locker and give yourself another shot of atropine, or so help me, I will stick it in your leg myself," she told her, thrusting a set of keys into her hand.

Felicity took the keys, heading straight for the drug. By the time she had given herself a second dose and returned to Michelle, the blonde was on the phone, demanding a helicopter.

"Yes, I've got ambulance crews approaching the scene. I'm asking – I need a chopper," Michelle was explaining. "One of my people are down. I don't give a shit. Divert it. Now!"

"What's happening?" Felicity demanded. "Is Jordan okay?"

Michelle held her hand up, instead addressing Vince. "Rescue Base to Rescue Seven Portable, there's a chopper inbound ready for medivac as soon as you need it."

"_Copy that, base."_

Finally, Michelle turned to Felicity. "Jordan is on the ground," Michelle explained, fear in her voice. "He's not breathing." She reached for the radio again. "Rescue Base to Rescue Seven Portable, sit rep."

"_Yeah Base, he's still down. Standby_," Vince informed them.

Felicity sank onto the chair next to Michelle. "How the hell do you do this?" she muttered. Whether it was the atropine, the fact Jordan wasn't breathing, or a combination of both, all Felicity could hear was her own blood pumping in her ears. She wasn't used to this. Sitting there, doing nothing. "Michelle, I can't sit here," she told her, standing back up.

Silently, Michelle's hand shot out, grabbing at Felicity's.

"_Rescue Seven Portable to Base_," Vince's voice suddenly burst through the radio. _"Michelle, we got him."_

"Rescue Base: copy that," Michelle sighed in relief, releasing Felicity's hand and relaxing back into her seat. "Nice work."

Beside her, Felicity let out a long breath she hadn't realised she had been holding and sank back into the seat.

* * *

><p>Finally, there was only the sound of steady beeping – the reassuring sound that Jordan's heart was doing its job and pumping blood around his body. After wafting away the concerned nurses and doctors, assuring them she was fine and would take it easy, Heidi had convinced the doctors to discharge her. And as soon as that had happened, she had left the emergency room and gone straight to Jordan's private room a few floors up.<p>

It was quieter in here. Too quiet, really. If it wasn't for the melodic beep from the machine, Heidi was certain she would have gone mad. In a bid to give her something to do, she pulled the chair closer to the bed and clutched at Jordan's hand, gently stroking patterns along the back of it.

"That tickles," Jordan told her, his hoarse voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Jord? You're awake?" Heidi asked, her eyes already watering with relief. She got up, turning her back to him so she could quickly wipe her eyes, and disguised the action by pouring him a cup of water. "Here," she said, offering him the straw.

Jordan greedily gulped at the water before spitting the straw out. "Better," he muttered. He turned his head slowly watching as she placed the cup back on the side, waiting for her to sit back down. "You saved me," he told her.

"I shouldn't have had to," she told him, punching his arm, before bursting into tears.

"Heidi?" Jordan asked, alarmed, his hand snaking out to hold hers. "Heidi, I'm alright."

"You nearly weren't, Jordan," she snapped at him. "You nearly weren't – and I thought you had a hangover."

"I did have a hangover," Jordan pointed out.

"Jordan, that's not the point!" Heidi cried. "You were ill and I thought you were hungover."

As the tears began to streak steadily down her cheeks, Jordan grunted, shifting himself over to the other side of the bed, and then, using what little strength he seemed to have left, pulled at Heidi's hand until she joined him. "Heidi, you saved me," he said gently. "You risked your own life and you saved me." He hugged her tightly to him. "And that is one of the many reasons as to why I love you."

From under his arm, Heidi just sobbed harder.

"Hey," Jordan muttered, softly. "You're not supposed to cry when I tell you I love you."

"I'm not," Heidi said, defiantly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Jordan sighed, and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Me too," he agreed.

It wasn't until Heidi's phone beeped at them that either of them moved. Heidi reached over for her phone and opened up the message. "It's Flick. She's invited me around for drinks. She say's today has been stressful and we should have some fun."

"You should go," Jordan urged her.

Heidi scowled. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Hardly," Jordan told her. "But I need to sleep. That chair isn't going to be comfortable and I'm not going anywhere any time soon. Plus we both know my mum's going to be here soon."

Heidi pulled a face. "Yeah, I don't need to be here to hear the lecture you're going to get. I guess a girly night would be good."

* * *

><p>"I think this is what I needed," Lara nodded, sinking into one of Felicity's couches. "A night with the girls. Did Heidi reply?"<p>

Felicity shook her head. "I'm not sure if I'd be up for it if I were her. Lord knows what she was thinking," she quickly added after seeing the suspicious stare Lara was giving her.

"Mmmm," Lara frowned. "So I see you have a thing for roses," she said, indicating the blooms that filled the room.

"Being a Yorkshire lass, they're what Cole associates with me," Felicity explained. "They're his way of apologising. Though I'm not sure I needed so many."

Lara laughed. "What did he do?"

Felicity opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped by the door intercom. "I'll be right back," she told Lara, heading over to the intercom. "Hello?"

"_Flick, do me a favour and tell the security guard that I'm not some psycho rugby groupie and let me in."_

"Heidi?" Felicity said in surprise as she answered the buzzer. "I wasn't expecting you."

There was a pause. "_You sent me a text message_," Heidi told her, clearly sounding confused.

"I know," Felicity said. "I just... thought you'd still be at the hospital. But come up! I'm glad you came. I'm on the eighteenth floor. I'll meet you at the lift." She stuck her head back into the living room. "That's Heidi. She's coming after all. I'm just going to meet her at the lift."

"I'm not going anywhere," Lara sighed, snuggling further into the couch.

Chuckling to herself, Felicity headed to the lift. Heidi was already stepping out of it by the time she got there. "This is a nice apartment building," Heidi muttered, glancing up and down the corridor. Twenty four hour security?"

"It's Cole's," Felicity admitted, opening the door to the apartment and ushering her in. "Under normal circumstances I would never have looked at a place like this – it would be _well_ out of my price range. However, I'm not complaining about being in an apartment complex which has its own pool and gym."

"Flick, this place is massive," Heidi exclaimed, her eyes wide as she gazed around the open-planned apartment.

"You want to try the couch," Lara called. "Or at least the other couch, because I'm not giving this one up."

"Here," Felicity offered Heidi an oversized glass of strawberry wine, filled nearly to the top.

"Why does it look like there's a full bottle in here?" Heidi asked, suspiciously.

"Probably because there is," Felicity shrugged grabbing her own glass. "So," she started, leading her into the living room. "How's Jordan?"

Heidi was about to respond when she sank into the couch. "Oh my god, it's like sitting in a giant cloud!"

"That's exactly what I said!" Lara agreed. "I've decided I'm moving in."

"What is that?" Heidi asked with an excited squeal, spotting the cat. "Here, kitty, kitty," she coaxed it over. "Oh, who's a pretty girl?" she cooed at it. "How long have you had a cat?" she asked, sending Felicity an accusatory stare.

"Sorry," Felicity shrugged. "_He_ is called Milo and I only got him this afternoon. I didn't really want to make a big deal of everything while we were all worrying about Jordan."

"Oh," Heidi sighed, sinking back into the chair with Milo on her lap. "Jordan is fine. He's already bored, but he's a much better patient than Dean ever was."

"Do I want to know?" Felicity asked, pulling a face.

"Dean drowned," Lara sighed. "A while ago now. Rescue went wrong. Anyway, he was the worst patient ever. His overnight stay in hospital turned into a couple of hours and then he was back at work.

"That's not important," Heidi declared. "He's alright, and thankfully, so is Jordan. What I want to know is how you ended up with a kitten."

"He's eight months," Felicity told her. "I'm not entirely sure he's still classed as a kitten. But," she added, seeing the impatient glare Heidi was giving her. "He's an apology present."

"Along with hundreds of roses you can see around the room," Lara added.

Heidi looked around, her eyes wide in amazement. "Holy crap. He must have bought out a store."

"Three, apparently," Felicity muttered.

"What the hell did he do?" Heidi blinked.

"That's what I asked," Lara said, looking pointedly at Felicity.

"And I was about to tell you," Felicity shot back at her. "But Heidi arrived." She pulled her feet up underneath her and took a large sip of wine. "We got into an argument because he doesn't like the fact I'm friends with Chase. He thinks Chase has a thing for me."

Heidi snorted. "Please. That's obvious."

Lara frowned, watching Felicity. "You two haven't, you know?"

Felicity shook her head. "No. We haven't." She chewed at her lip. "Look if I tell you something, you can't tell anyone else."

Lara's eyes widened. "Oh my god, you did!"

"No!" Felicity objected. "We haven't done _anything_," she repeated. "But he nearly kissed me. And I nearly let him," she admitted, before reaching for her glass and downing half of it.

"Do you like Chase?" Heidi asked, blinking.

Very slowly, Felicity nodded. "It's hard not to," she told them, frowning as the both laughed. "Yeah, you can stop laughing now," she grumbled, flushing. "Nothing's going to happen. I'm marrying Cole."

"Is that why you've been ignoring him for the past week?" Heidi asked, thoughtfully.

"I haven't been ignoring him, I've been avoiding him," Felicity corrected her. "I didn't know what to say and that seemed to be the easiest thing I could do."

"That's what I thought too," Lara muttered.

"Come again?" Felicity frowned.

From the other side of the room, mirroring Felicity's previous actions, Lara proceeded to empty the contents of her glass of wine down her throat. Then, setting the glass on the table beside her, inhaled deeply. "," she said, so quickly all the words merged into one.

"What?" Heidi asked, pulling a face.

The look of confusion was also on Felicity. "You know, it really sounded like you kissed Dean," she laughed. The laughing died away as she realised Lara was looking awkwardly at the patterns in the leather of the couch.

Heidi's mouth fell open. "You're shitting me!" she cried. "You. And Dean?"

"Now why do I get laughed at for _nearly_ kissing Chase, but you struggle to believe she's kissed Dean?" Felicity asked, pouting.

"Because it's _Chase_," Heidi informed her, pulling a face. "I mean, he's just so... Chase. It's like discovering someone has a crush on your ten year old brother."

"Thanks," Felicity mumbled, seeing Lara nod her head in agreement. She held her hands up in the universal signal for _stop_. "Whatever. You and Dean? When?"

"A week ago," Lara admitted.

"How?" Felicity asked.

"Well, seeing as you only _nearly_ kissed, I can see how you wouldn't get that, but the lips of two people-"

Heidi was cut off by the cushion bouncing off the side of her head, courtesy of Felicity. "I know _how_ you kiss, muppet," Felicity rolled her eyes. "I want to know how those two _ended_ _up_ kissing!"

"It was the day we were on the dunes and everything kicked off with Graham Cooper," Lara explained. "He came around to mine for a pizza and a movie, and one thing led to another."

"Did you sleep with him?" Heidi asked.

Lara quickly shook her head. "He left soon afterwards."

"Did you call him on it?" asked Felicity.

"Yeah," Lara sighed. "He said it would never happen again. And the next thing I know, he's with that police officer, Zoe."

Heidi pulled a face, wincing. "Um, from what I could gather from Chase, he and Jordan went out last night because Dean had a date and he didn't want Chase about."

"That sucks," Felicity sighed, reaching for her wine.

"I was trying to tell him that I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea if we got together, considering we worked together, but I was willing to give it a try. He just never let me get that far with my explanation."

"It can work if you work together," Heidi muttered, distractedly. She looked up, blinking as she realised Felicity and Lara were staring at her and cleared her throat. "Oh, yeah, I'm seeing Jordan."

Lara, who was actually watching Felicity, allowed her mouth to fall open. "You knew!" she accused.

Felicity shrugged, holding up her now empty glass. "Look at that. I need a refill."

"Oh, you get your ass back in here!" Lara yelled at her as Felicity scarpered into the kitchen area. Seeing she wasn't listening, she dashed in after her. "You actually knew, didn't you?"

"I might have done," she admitted, emptying the contents of another bottle of wine into the glass. "But," she said, using the empty bottle to point at Lara. "It would appear you did too!"

"How do you _both_ know?" Heidi demanded from behind them.

"I saw you kiss him," Lara shrugged, turning back to Felicity. "How did you know?"

"On my first day here, you, Chase and Dean had me believing Heidi and Jordan were 'at it like rabbits'," she explained, using finger quotes. "And when I called Jordan on it, he was that surprised I knew, he couldn't make a convincing case otherwise."

The three women stared at each other in various stages of disbelief. It was Heidi who spoke first. "At it like rabbits?" she asked Lara accusatorily. "Really? That's not the kind of prank you pull on a new starter, you know."

"That's what I said!" Felicity exclaimed. She pulled herself up onto the kitchen counter and stared thoughtfully at Lara. "Dean likes you, you know."

"And he just happened to confess that one to you, did he?" Lara scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Really?" Heidi asked, her hands on her hips. "Hello, we're talking about the Gallagher brothers. I think when it comes to who either of them like, the only people who don't know are you two."

"We're not talking about me and Chase," Felicity responded, shaking her head. "Who we should be talking about is you and Jordan. I mean, you're clearly getting some – is it good?"

Heidi let out a cackle. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Not really," Felicity shrugged, acting nonchalant. "I just thought I would ask to be polite."

"Flick, she doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to," Lara scolded her. "But she does have to tell me," she added, turning to her friend.

Heidi merely grinned and wiggled her eyebrows before dashing back into the living room. Lara and Felicity shared a look before chasing after her. "No fair!" Felicity yelled.

* * *

><p><em>Hey y'all! Did you miss me? Ha ha, only kidding. But seriously, sorry for the disappearing act. The ass-hat boss quit, we got taken over, and suddenly I have work to do – it makes me soooo happy. I'm editing comic books of all things! As it happens, updating may become a little irregular (I will try, I promise!) because the DJing will start up properly next week, and until a replacement can be found, looks like I'm in charge of the karaoke the following night too. (I tell you, bed at 4am on a Wednesday, followed by bed at 2am on a Thursday, along with a day job... well, let's just say I will be living proof that zombies really exist, LOL). What have y'all been up to? Finding something to occupy yourself with on a Monday night?<em>

_Miley - LOL, yes she is. Me too, and it might happen (eventually!)_

_Madison - Does it help that she's not denying it anymore? I will sort him - I have something written already... I just don't know if I like it._

_meddrama - Do you know, considering he's a new (and admittedly, somewhat random) character, I adore Lachie. But I'm sure I can arrange some sort rescuing, lol_

_SarahSoph - Um, I'll be honest, I'm not sure if anything will be resolved too soon, I'm afraid, although, I think we might be making progress. I agree - it probably was written way in advance, and I think it is up there with my favourites too. I cannot get my hands on The Blackchords to save my life. I prefer to buy music, but it's not on itunes (grrrr), so any clues on where I might get my hands on downloading them - even if I have to resort to not too legal means? Was never keen on Foals, but I'm liking the other stuff! Thank you_

_Rescuelover - Hmmm, I think I am going to live in the land of denial for a year and see if it comes back. (It's a lovely place - I visit frequently). It did make me feel happy, and you were right, it did get better (literally overnight too), so thank you. I love KP - I'm going to see her in October and I can't wait!_

_J - My favourite character is Vince. I adore him - and him and Lachie in the last few episodes have been priceless. But even though they've mentioned it, it never occured to me to pair him and Michelle up. However, the idea has now been planted in my head, so watch this space! I think they Lara and Dean are together, off in Rescue world. I think Lara would have missed the job too much and then come back._

_MMC gang - LOL, I too shouted at the screen, something along the lines of... 'wrong brother, you idiot!' It startled the cats. Heidi and Jordan were a cute couple - they had to get back together!_

_retardedgazelle - Thank you... I had forgotten about Our Lady Peace and dug their albums out and spent a couple of happy hours reminding myself why I had the albums! I had to DL the GA soundtrack after watching that episode (I didn't think they would pull it off, but they did and Sara ramirez has one heck of a voice!) I have Running on Sunshine on all the time when I'm driving to work. Sadly, I tend to forget I'm sat in the car and start dancing around to it. Needless to say, there are usually a few amused faces in the rush hour traffic around me. And you must finish it - that is an order (:-P)_


	15. Wax On, Wax Off

_Righto, no more direct episode spoilers!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 15: Wax on, Wax Off**

Felicity took a deep breath and set the box down in front of Chase. His attention switched from his computer to the box which he then eyed warily before looking up at her. "What's this?" he asked suspiciously.

"This is my attempt at an apology, so it won't bite," Felicity admitted. "You know – for being an ass and ignoring you all week."

Wrinkling his nose up, Chase opened the box up. "_Gran Turismo?_"

"I noticed it was missing from your collection and I figured there should always be at least two games in your collection that I can kick your ass at," Felicity nodded, cheekily.

"Unless you accidentally crash your car," Chase told her with a smirk.

Felicity pulled a face, swiping at his arm. "Really? Are you ever going to let me live down the fact I accidentally blew myself up – _once_?"

"Nope," Chase grinned.

Felicity sank into the chair next to him. "You do realise that I have more trophies than you, don't you?"

Behind them, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both Chase and Felicity swung around to find Vince watching them with a half amused expression. "Flickey-Split," he grinned.

Felicity narrowed her eyes. "Why do I feel like I'm not going to like the next words out of your mouth?"

"I do believe it's your turn to wash the trucks," he informed her.

"I do believe that I'm the only person to wash those trucks since the car wash," Felicity retorted.

Vince shrugged. "Fine. Consider yourself having drawn the short straw."

Felicity sent a look of pleading at Chase. "Don't look at me," he told her.

"I would have thought you'd have been a bit fairer," Felicity sighed at Vince, getting to her feet. "It's not like you were actually washing the cars. You were just standing there, looking pretty."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Vince told her, pushing her towards the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Have you got everything?" Heidi asked for the third time.<p>

"You're as bad as my mum," Jordan muttered under his breath.

Heidi scowled. "I heard that."

"I'm going home," Jordan explained with a shrug. "I'm not moving house. I didn't have much in here anyway."

"If you're going to complain I will call your mum myself," Heidi shot at him.

With a concerned nibble on his lower lip, Jordan crossed the room and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "Alright, what's the matter?"

"I just don't think you should be discharging yourself so early," Heidi sighed.

Jordan smiled into her hair. "I'm not discharging myself. The doc discharged me – and that was after he checked my lungs. I'm fine, Heidi," he told her.

Heidi pulled back and gave him a worried look. "Jord, you died," she pointed out.

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Even Michelle is letting me back at work next week."

"Hmph" Heidi muttered. "She wants me to see someone before she'll let me out in the field."

"So go see someone," he told her.

"We should get going," Heidi said, brushing the suggestion off. "Lara's waiting downstairs for us." She leant past him and grabbed the bag. "Unless you want to be wheeled out of the door?" she added when he did little more than watch her movements.

"Nah, I'm coming," he told her, following her out of the door.

Sure enough, Lara was waiting for the pair at a pick up point outside the main entrance. A wide smile appeared on her face as soon as she saw Jordan walking towards her. "You're looking a lot better," she told him. "You must be looking forward to having some of your mum's cooking."

"Amongst other things," he agreed. "Which apparently you know about," he added, shooting Heidi a look.

Heidi just shrugged at him, popping open the boot and putting his bag in it. "Like you didn't say something first," she scoffed, before getting in the back.

"Did I miss something?" Lara asked Jordan quietly.

Jordan shook his head. "She just worries too much. Does she really need to see someone?"

Lara nodded. "Michelle doesn't know about you two, but it's obvious you're good mates, and even though I can't say I blame her, what she did was a little reckless."

"It was more than a little reckless," Jordan agreed. "I'll see if I can get her to go later."

"Might be a good idea," Lara told him before heading around to the driver's side and getting in. "Where are we going?" she asked the pair brightly.

"Mine," Jordan sighed at Heidi's lack of response.

* * *

><p>It was a waste of time, Felicity knew that. But as she looked at the sud-covered Rescue supply truck she knew she would have to do the roof as well – even if no one could see it. Soaking the brush in warm, soapy water, and using the wing mirror as leverage, she climbed up onto the cabin tire. She reached up to the lights on top, and checking to see that Vince wasn't around, found her footing and hauled herself further up.<p>

She didn't waste any time, scrubbing the roof in time to the music on her iPhone, getting the job done quickly. She was making her way back down when the rubber soles of her boots lost the grip on the slippery metal. With a squeal, she fell backwards. Only her landing wasn't the concrete ground she'd been expecting. It was a pair of arms. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"Goldfish, ladders are much more effective," the owner of the pair of arms informed her with a cheeky grin. "They're probably safer too."

Felicity found herself staring up at a familiar set of blue eyes. "Thank you," she started before frowning. "You're the guy that was at that plane crash the yesterday," she realised.

"I am," he agreed, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Though I'm hurt you can't remember my name."

With her face heating up, Felicity shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm not normally this bad with names," she muttered.

"Lucky," he offered, the cheeky grin still there.

"Of course," Felicity feigned, giving him an embarrassed smile. The truth was, she still had no idea who he was, or how he knew her. She was fairly certain that she would remember someone called _Lucky_. Maybe it had been that night in the casino...?

"Lucky!" she heard Dean call, irritated. "You're here for a job interview. Not to sweep women off their feet."

Lachie glanced over, wiggling his eyebrows. "Just performing my first rescue, big brother."

"There's _three_ of you?" Felicity all but choked.

"Unfortunately," Dean muttered. "For God's sake, Lucky. Put Flick down," he added, in exasperation.

Felicity looked back at Lachie, her face feeling even hotter as she realised he was still holding her. "That's probably a good idea," she muttered her agreement, quickly stepping away from him as soon as her feet were on the ground.

Lachie reached down and grabbed the fallen broom, handing it over to her. "You can thank me properly later," he informed her with a wink. "Alright Deanfold," he said, diverting his attention to his brother. "Lead the way."

"It's Dean," Dean muttered, rolling his eyes. "This way."

Felicity's mouth was still hanging open as the pair disappeared into the building. "Since when was there a third one?" she finally muttered in astonishment. Shaking the disbelief away, she plugged the ear buds back into her ears, turned Blondie up, and focused her attention on rinsing down the truck.

She had moved onto drying the vehicle with the chamois cloth when a hand on her shoulder made her jump. She yanked the ear buds out and found Chase laughing at her. "You're lucky I didn't knock you out!" she cried, her heart still pounding against her ribcage. "I was in my own little world."

"Yeah, I know," Chase choked out. "A world inhabited by you and Rick Astley."

"Don't act like you didn't know I listened to dodgy 80s music," Felicity muttered, drying her hands off on her trousers so she could stop the music. Suddenly, she frowned and punched Chase's arm.

"Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?"

"Oh I don't know," Felicity shrugged. "Maybe it's because you have another brother who you neglected to mention."

"You met Lachie then?" he asked with a grin as he rubbed at his arm.

"Lachie?" Felicity repeated. "Well that's just bloody marvellous."

"What?" Chase asked warily, taking a step back.

"I thought he said his name was _Lucky_!" she moaned.

"Well I've heard worse," Lachie told her, causing her to jump again.

She whirled around to find the remaining Gallagher brother watching them from beside Michelle and Vince. "I'm going to use this moment to head back inside under the pretence of looking for the wax when in reality I'm going to hide in a corner," she told them, well aware her face was turning a glorious letterbox red. "Lachie, it was nice meeting you and hopefully, the next time I see you, you and I will have forgotten about this."

"Even with a memory like a goldfish, I would say that would be unlikely," Lachie informed her before Felicity could get more than a couple of paces away from him.

"Flickety-Split, I'd like you to meet the newest member of Rescue," Vince told her.

Felicity stopped, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she opened them, she turned her attention to Michelle. "What's the chance I could take a couple days off sick?"

Michelle turned to Vince. "Vince, what would you say the chances were of you giving up that platinum card to –"

Vince held his hand up. "I'll stop you right there," he told Michelle.

"I'm going to go find that wax now," Felicity sighed.

"It's on the top shelf," Vince called after her.

"You're awful," Michelle laughed, dragging Vince back inside.

Lachie waited until they were gone before giving his brothers an unimpressed look. "So let me get this right. Neither of you ever mentioned me to anyone?"

"Well we would have done," Dean shrugged, sharing a look with his youngest brother.

"Yeah," Chase agreed. "Only we figured that if we did, we'd have to kill them."

Dean nodded. "We were going for that whole 'don't ask, don't tell', policy."

"That's…" Lachie rolled his eyes. "You two are in the wrong business."

* * *

><p>By the time Lara had dropped both Jordan and Heidi off at Jordan's, Heidi's mood had improved considerably. She made sure her friends had everything they needed (although, judging from the way Jordan's mum was hovering over them, it was probably space that they wanted), she had left them to do some shopping.<p>

Lara had hidden it well, but she was hung over to hell. The strawberry wine Cole had supplied them with was lethal. It was possibly something which was increasing Heidi's grumpiness... she was just glad she didn't have to go into work like Felicity had.

Her mission, in the supermarket, was to load her basket up with as many carb loaded foods as possible. She was eyeing up a freshly baked loaf when she spotted Zoe. Feeling the way she did, an interaction was definitely not what she fancied, so she put the bread in her basket, and made a hasty retreat away from her.

She had just rounded the corner (and escaped detection – and therefore any awkward conversation that would have followed), when a young boy went charging past her, calling for his mum. Lara wasn't entirely sure what made her look back, but when she did, she realised the boy was now pleading with his mother to get some chocolate. And his mum was none other than Zoey.

Lara blinked. _Not_ what she was expecting, and judging from the fact Dean had yet to mention it, there was a very good chance he wasn't aware of it either. The second her phone rang, she jumped back and yanked it out of the pocket. "Flick?"

"_Did you know there was a third one?"_ Flick demanded.

"You met Lachie then?" Lara chuckled. "Yeah, Dean has mentioned him a couple of times. He's in the army."

"_He's not anymore," _Felicity corrected her. "_Lachie is now a member of Rescue."_

"Hey, Flick?" Lara cut her off. "If you knew something about someone a friend was seeing, but you didn't think that friend knew about it, would you tell them?"

There was a slight pause. "_Is this your way of saying you know something about Cole I probably don't want to know?"_ Felicity asked slowly.

"No," Lara hurriedly informed her.

There was another pause. "_Well, in that case I probably would say something, but I probably shouldn't say something," _she offered. "_Actually_," she quickly corrected herself. "_It would depend on what it was. If Zoe was cheating on Dean, then yes, I would tell him, but I don't like him, so if that's the case, you should probably get someone else to say it, so long as he didn't know you knew about it, because he'd be pissed that you knew, but he should definitely know. But if it's that Zoe is president of the train spotters anonymous, then no, he doesn't need to know that. Or maybe he does, but I wouldn't go out of my way to tell him. But then again-_"

"Felicity!" Lara hissed.

"_You're asking the wrong person_," Felicity admitted with a sigh. "_But for what it's worth, in my opinion, a little hurt now is better than a lot of hurt later – and that includes the hurt that comes from knowing your friend knew something."_

"Thanks," Lara muttered. "I think."

"_Just think about it before you say anything," _Felicity told her. "_Anyway, I think I've taken long enough to find the wax I've been staring at for the last ten minutes that my face is no longer letterbox red. I can't believe there are three of them," _she moaned before ringing off.

Lara puffed out her cheeks and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Thanks, Flick," she muttered under her breath.

* * *

><p><em>I'm really sorry about the disappearing act. Not only do I actually have work to do at my day job, the Freshers have arrived back at uni, which means over the past two weeks I've pulled off 7 twenty hour days. But I've remembered how much I love DJing (seriously, last night was the BEST night I have EVER done! Although, admittedly, I didn't get to bed gone 5am...) Next week will be a bit manic too, so it might be a while before the next update!<em>

_I suppose I should also apologise for the spelling mistakes etc. I have read through it, but I'm sure they're in there!_

_Rescuelover - I suppose the good news is that even though I haven't had chance to write, I have had chance to think... this story is growing in my head. I feel it will be quite long. Thank you for you message, btw - I'm sorry I made you wait so long!_

_SarahSoph - I have finally got my hands on them (via a torrent). Now I just need the time to listen to them! There will be progress - I'm moving things along, I promise :)_

_Miley - Well, now that they've made up (AKA, Flick not being a twit), there should be a few more moments to come!_

_MMC gang - that's alright! I love the pair, too. I was so happy when they got together. I've decided I hate Zoe too. I'm not going to be nice to her, either. Mwahahahaha!_


	16. Save the Date

_It's b__een a while, again, I know. I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have spent so much time complaining about having nothing to do at work because right now both jobs are kicking my ass. Ah well, I am enjoying reeping the benefits of the extra DJing shifts - and this week should be the last one where I'm doing more than normal... things will finally settle down from Freshers Week (for those of you who didn't know, our terms run sept/oct to may/june)._

**Oooooh, and before I forget, for all of you in the UK, Universal is showing the third series as of the 17th.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 16: Save the Date  
><strong>

A small thud awoke Felicity from her restless sleep. "What was that?" she asked Cole, sleepily. "Cole?" she repeated, turning, when she didn't get a response. For the fourth time in a fortnight, his side of the bed was empty. Felicity, yawned and stretched, wiping the sleep from her eyes so she could stare blurrily at the bright green digits that were shining at her. 2.08am.

She stretched again and sat upright, reaching for the lamp and switching it on. Felicity took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dazzling brightness before clambering out of the bed. She made her way into the hallway and peered into the kitchen. "Cole?" she called, flicking on the light.

"It's only me," he told her from the kitchen.

Felicity frowned, heading over to him. "Another late one?" she asked him, rhetorically.

Cole pulled a face. "You could have come," he pointed out.

"I have work in the morning, Cole," Felicity told him, dryly.

"So do I," Cole retorted, marching over to her. "At least I came home."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Felicity demanded.

"It means I could have the pick of any girl out there," Cole explained.

Felicity stared up at him in disbelief. "And that's what? Your explanation for why you reek of perfume?" She turned, heading back for the bedroom, and then turned back to him. "And if you can have your pick of any girl out there, maybe you should have it, because right now, this one doesn't want you. I'm going back to bed," she told him, turning on her heel and slammed the door behind her.

She sat on the bed, giving Milo a small smile as he curled up in her lap, purring away like a 1960s racing car. Moments later, the door opened and Cole walked in.

"I didn't mean it like that," he told her.

"Oh," Felicity muttered. "Because that makes me feel better."

"Three weeks, two days," he said.

Felicity frowned. "Cole, it's 2am. I'm too tired for games."

"That's when we're getting married," he told her, hurrying over to the bed. "I was at the Four Seasons this evening, and it turns out they have a vacancy in three weeks and two days time. So I booked it."

Felicity stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock. "What were you doing at the Four Seasons?" she asked him, dumbly.

"Booking our wedding, baby. You could at least pretend to be a little more excited," he grunted.

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "It's just so... How on earth am I going to organise a wedding in three weeks?" she asked him, her eyes wide. "What about the rugby?"

"The final is in two weeks. It won't interfere with the wedding, and I will be able to get a couple of weeks for our honeymoon. You said you always wanted to go to Hawaii," he added, stripping off his clothes and dumping them on the floor.

"Cole, that's," she started excitedly. "What about my dad, and my sister?"

"Are you intentionally trying to irritate me?" he asked her, irritably as he climbed into bed. "Your sister will come, and your dad was never going to. Now, are we going to get married, or should I cancel the hotel, because I will lose my deposit?"

Felicity watched Milo scarper from the room before addressing her fiancé. "No, I want to get married," she told him. "In fact," she glanced over at the clock, doing the maths. "I'm going to Skype my sister now and tell her she's going to be a maid of honour."

* * *

><p>Lara leant back against the lockers, watching as Dean strode in, whistling a chirpy tune as he did so. "Someone's happy," she noted.<p>

"Zoe cooked breakfast this morning," Dean informed her, opening his locker.

"You stayed at hers?" she asked, surprised.

Dean shook his head, before it disappeared under his shirt. He quickly folded it and placed it in his locker, pulling a clean rescue shirt on. "She stayed at mine. She even cooked for Chase."

"And have you ever stayed at hers?" Lara pressed, chewing at the insides of her mouth as she waited for his response.

Dean regarded her carefully. "Is this twenty questions about my personal life? No, I haven't stayed at hers. Does it matter?" Without waiting for an answer, he headed upstairs.

"What did you say to Dean?" Chase asked her as he took Dean's place.

"Just asking about Zoe," Lara sighed.

Chase beamed. "She cooks a mean fry-up," he told her. Lara rolled her eyes and headed upstairs. "Well, she does," Chase called after her.

"Upsetting the ladies are we?" Lachie asked, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"You all ready for your first day?" Chase asked, swatting his arm away.

Lachie nodded, unzipping his jacket to reveal the rescue uniform beneath it. "You do realise I look better in this than you do?"

"Yeah, keep dreaming. You're just upset that you missed out on a cooked breakfast." Chase retorted, leading his brother upstairs to Michelle's office. As she was busy on the phone, they held back, waiting.

Felicity hurried into the station, bypassing the lockers to continue upstairs in her civvies, ignored the puzzled Lara and Vince gave her and continued straight for Michelle's office. "Oh, it's your first day," she realised when she found Chase and Lachie waiting there.

"Ah, you see, goldfish," Lachie grinned. "Your memory isn't that bad."

Felicity gave him an unimpressed look as her hands found their way on to their hips. "Seriously, the name is Felicity. Not _goldfish_, and not Flick. Fel-i-ci-tee," she told him through gritted teeth.

Lachie shrugged. "I do believe you introduced yourself as goldfish," he informed her, lightly. "You know, oh, there's a castle."

Felicity flushed. "I compared myself to a goldfish," she corrected him. "I didn't introduce myself as a goldfish. You already knew my name!" She glanced back into Michelle's office, unable to keep from tapping her fingers against her bag impatiently.

"You look like a girl awaiting the results of a pregnancy test," Lachie informed her, earning a bark of laughter from his sidekick, and younger brother.

"And you look like someone who is nervous for their first day," Felicity shot back. "The only difference is I'm not pregnant," she added with a grin.

"Why are you looking so..." Chase frowned, looking her up and down. "Twitchy. And early," he added. "I didn't think you were due in for another couple of hours."

"How is it you know her rota, but not your own?" Lachie teased.

"I can't tell you," Felicity interrupted them. "Not yet at least. But hopefully in a couple of minutes," she added, ducking into Michelle's office and ignoring the objections from Chase and Lachie as she shut the door behind her.

"You're early," Michelle told her.

"I know," Felicity nodded. "But I came to ask a favour."

"Mmmmm," Michelle murmured expectantly.

"October ten," Felicity started. "Well, apparently Cole has booked the Four Seasons for us to get married, followed by two weeks in Hawaii, and I think I'd quite like the time off, if possible. Plus, you guys are kind of the only friends and family I have out here, so if you could arrange it so that we all had that Monday off, I would love it if you would come to my wedding."

Michelle blinked, before breaking into a wide grin and darting from behind her desk to give her a hug. "Congratulations," she cried, squeezing tightly.

"Is that a yes?" Felicity asked hopefully.

She emerged from the room minutes later with a bright smile on her face. "She's all yours," she told the waiting brothers before skipping away on her mission to find Heidi and Lara.

Heidi was the easiest to find. Since coming back to work the day before, all Vince and Michelle had had her doing was cleaning. Currently, she was working on the small kitchen area, emptying the cupboards and wiping the shelves down. "This kitchen is disgusting," Heidi muttered bitterly as scrubbed at a suspicious looking stain.

Instead of reminding Heidi that all she had to do was go see the psychiatrist (she had nearly bitten Felicity's head off when she had suggested that on a previous occasion), Felicity pulled herself up on the counter next to her. "So what are you doing three weeks tomorrow?"

Heidi shrugged and peered around the cupboard door at her. "Hopefully not cleaning this kitchen again. Why?"

Felicity shrugged, nonchalantly. "I have a bridesmaid quota to fill."

Heidi blinked, took a moment to process what Felicity was suggesting, and then, with a ridiculously high pitched excited squeal, dropped the cloth and launched herself at Felicity.

"Is that a yes?" Felicity asked, struggling to breathe.

"Oh my god, of course it's a yes!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Did you find a spider in there?" Vince asked, joining them.

"I'm getting married," Felicity informed him. "And Heidi has just agreed to be a bridesmaid. I'm going to get some invitations done properly," she added. "But will you be able to come?"

"I suppose I can manage that," Vince responded, gruffly. Then with a sigh, leant over and patted her shoulder. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," she beamed. "Any clues on where Lara got to?"

"Out on patrol with Dean," Vince replied. "Now, while I'm happy you've set a date, I think we should let Heidi continue cleaning the kitchen. And as you've been set the task of showing Lachie the ropes, as soon as he's done with 'Chelle, you can show him them. Literally. They need cleaning and putting away."

"I didn't think you were being serious about that!" Felicity objected.

"You could help Heidi in the kitchen," Vince suggested.

Felicity turned and glanced in the open cupboard and blanched. "No offence, Heidi, but no thank you!" She quickly scarped down the stairs leaving Vince with a very unimpressed Heidi.

"I'm certain this is unethical," Heidi told him.

* * *

><p>"Do I have something on my face?" Dean asked, his eyes never leaving the road in front of him.<p>

From the passenger seat, Lara quickly turned her attention to the people on the footpath. "No," she replied. Then, unable to help herself, she found herself, glancing back at him.

"Lara, this is getting ridiculous," he told her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Lara responded quickly, shaking her head.

"You've been staring at me for the past hour," Dean muttered. He pulled over and turned to look at her. "So what's bugging you?"

"I don't know if it's my place to say," she told him. "I mean you might know anyway, but if it was me, I'd want to know."

Dean shook his head. "Just come out with it."

"Did you know Zoe has a kid?" she blurted out.

Judging from the expression on Dean's face, he didn't. "How do you know she has a kid?" he demanded.

"I saw her in the supermarket with a boy. He must have been about ten or eleven?"

"And what makes you think he was hers?" Dean asked her. "For all you know, he could have been her nephew or something."

"He called her mum," Lara told him, beginning to regret ever saying anything.

"Yeah, well maybe you misheard," Dean snapped.

"You know what, maybe I did," Lara hurriedly agreed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No," Dean agreed. "You shouldn't have."

* * *

><p>"I don't know what to do," Jordan admitted. He, Chase and Felicity were downstairs, getting started on cleaning the ropes while they waited for Lachie to finish his induction.<p>

"Have you tried talking to her?" Chase suggested.

Jordan gave him a look which read _duh_. "Yes, mate. I've tried talking to her."

Felicity shrugged. "Well, in that case, you're left with blackmail or bribery."

"I'm skint," Jordan admitted. "I can't afford to be bribing her."

"Bribe her with your body," Chase suggested. "Offer sex for counselling."

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. "That won't work. You'd be better off withholding sex."

Chase shot her a look. "That won't work either. Women withhold sex all the time to get men to do things."

"Because it works," Felicity retorted. "It might not exactly be fair, but men can't go longer than a couple of days before caving. The thing is, it work's both ways. Only, men can't last long enough to follow through with their threats."

"It's true," Lachie agreed, joining them with Vince close behind them. "Women want sex just as much as men, but they're better at using it to get what they want." He looked at the three. "Who are we talking about?"

"One of the guys Cole plays with," Felicity answered smoothly, after seeing the brief look of panic flash through Jordan. Although more and more people were knowing about the couple, it was obvious they still didn't want Vince or Michelle to know.

"Mmmm," Vince muttered. "How about you set to showing Lachie what's what, and don't forget the ropes in stores."

"Come on, Lucky," Felicity commanded, ushering him away from the group. "I'll show you where the buckets live."

* * *

><p><em>Miss Deeds - I'm here and gone again! It shouldn't last too much is, thank you. It's a long day, but I love it!<em>

_MMC gang - I do, and I feel I might not be as fair to her character as I ought to. Oh well!_

_meddrama - You know you've put ideas in my head, right? I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Lachie._

_Rescuelover - he will eventually, though not by using Chase/Felicity's suggestion. I have six sides of a notebook scribbled with plot ideas and outlines. I fear it could become much longer than I anticipated._

_retardedgazelle - I've just started watching Rush (I've just finished season 2). It took me a while to like it, I mean, it's good plots and episodes, but half of the characters annoyed the hell out of me. It helped when they got rid of Grace. Now, I love it. And Rodger Corser is rather pretty to look at. (:D)_


	17. Anabella Sierra Sloane III

**But Who's Going to Save You?**

**Chapter 17: Anabella Sierra Sloane III**

"Rescue One Portable, how's it going out there?" Vince radioed through.

"_Rescue __One __Portable, __to __Rescue __Base: __yeah, __we__'__re __fine, __but __we__'__re __going __to __be __a __while,_" Dean radioed back.

Lachie glanced up from the computer screen he was sharing with Flick. "What's up, Vinnie?"

Vince shot him a glare. "How many times to you have to be told? It's _Vince._ And there's nothing wrong."

"What's up, Vince?" Felicity asked. Despite what he saying, Vince's eyebrows were furrowing together in a way which indicated something _was_ wrong.

Vince frowned. "We've got another call."

Felicity shrugged, standing. "I'll go," she offered

"Why did he answer you?" Lachie asked, staring between Felicity and Vince in disbelief.

"Because I like _her_," Vince retorted. "And like hell you will," he added, addressing Felicity. "You've got no one to go with you."

"You could always let me back out?" Heidi called over from her position of cleaning the glass wall of Michelle's office.

"And you could always go see that shrink," Vince shot back, causing Heidi to shoot him a filthy look. "And you can pipe down too," Vince told Jordan, who was busy sorting the files on Vince's desk, before he could say anything. Vince let out a deep sigh and pulled his headset off, tossing it at Jordan. "Jordan, you're not leaving this desk. Flick, new boy, you're both coming with me."

"Yes!" Lachie exclaimed. "Finally," he added, holding his hand up to Felicity for a high-five.

Felicity rolled her eyes, ignoring it as she stepped around him and followed Vince down the stairs.

"You're both going to fall in love with me eventually," Lachie called, hurrying after them. "I guarantee it."

"Vince!" Michelle yelled down the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"Just testing the rookies out," Vince called back.

"I'm not a rookie!" Felicity objected. "And I've been here for nearly four months."

Vince ignored her, blowing out another breath. He got to the truck, the keys swinging from his index finger as he looked between Felicity and Lachie. "Flick – head's up," he said, throwing her the keys.

Felicity caught them, pulled a face, and threw them back. "I still don't know my way around."

"I'll drive," Lachie offered, grinning at Vince.

Vince pulled a face and threw the keys back at Felicity. "I thought you weren't the rookie."

* * *

><p>"So what's going on between you and Lara?" Chase asked. He'd been dying to ask for the past few days, but with Lachie moving in, and seemingly unaware of what was going on, for the first time (possibly ever) he decided to give his eldest brother the courtesy of waiting until they were alone before asking the question. Well, they were both treating an unconscious driver, pinned beneath their steering wheel, but it looked like that was as good as it was going to get.<p>

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dean told him, shortly, refusing to take his eyes from his patient.

"Of course you don't," Chase agreed with only the slightest hint of sarcasm to his voice.

Dean shook his head and reached for his radio. "Rescue One Portable to Rescue Two Portable: Lara, could you move any slower with those extraction tools?"

"_I f__you __want __the m__any __faster, __maybe __you __should __come __get __them __yourself,__"_ Lara sniped back over the radio.

"Definitely nothing going on," Chase muttered, just as sarcastically.

"Chase, why don't you go and do something useful, like hurry Lara up," Dean instructed him.

"Fine." Chase backed out of the car and set off for the patrol at a jog. He was almost at it when Lara appeared from around the back, carry several pieces of extraction gear. "Need a hand?" he offered.

"Dean sent you, did he?" Lara snapped.

"Maybe?" Chase shrugged, pulling a face.

"Of course he did," Lara told him, storming past him, and ignoring his offer of help. "Maybe he should take a page out of his own book and mind his own business."

Chase held his hands up in the air, as he hurried alongside the blonde. "I'm just offering to help you carry some of that equipment," he told her.

Lara sighed, nodding, allowing Chase to take the Perspex sheet from under her arm. "Thanks," she told him, almost reluctantly.

Chase gave her a sideways glance. "Have _I_ done something to piss you off?"

Lara quickly shook her head. "No, it's not you."

"Can I help?" he offered, awkwardly.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"I'm not on about carrying more things for you," he told her, hurriedly.

Lara forced a smile. "I know."

* * *

><p>"I don't know why Chase hated doing this," Jordan sighed, relaxing back into Vince's chair, setting his feet on the desk.<p>

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Heidi told him. She walked over, setting the cleaning solution and the rag on the desk beside Jordan's feet. "So what are we doing tonight?" she asked, giving him a suggestive wink.

Jordan cleared his throat, setting his feet back on the ground as he sat upright. "That depends."

"Depends...?" Heidi started, but trailed off with a frustrated groan. "Seriously, Jord? It's been three days. How long are you going to keep withholding sex from me?"

"I dunno," Jordan shrugged. "How long are you going to avoid seeing that psychiatrist?"

Heidi's eyes narrowed as she snatched the spray and rag up. "Fine, we'll keep playing this game, but I guarantee you, I will win, Jordan Zwitkowski." She turned on her heel, marching straight back to Michelle's office, where she proceeded to spray the window she had just cleaned.

"It's not a game," Jordan muttered, watching her go.

* * *

><p>"Okay, we have a kid up a tree," Vince informed the other occupants of the patrol car as they pulled into a park. "This should be fairly straightforward, even for you two, so try not to cock it up."<p>

Felicity nodded, following the path along until they reached a rather frantic old woman, waving her arms at them. The three of them got out of the car, Vince focusing on the woman, while Felicity and Lachie scanned the treeline for the child.

"Are you the one that made the call?" Vince asked her, giving her a dazzling smile. She was an attractive woman in her mid forties, with curly brown hair... and a scowl on her face.

"About time you guys showed up. I called half an hour ago," she growled at Vince.

"Sorry, Miss," Vince responded, slightly taken aback. "We got here as fast as we could."

"Might have gotten here a little faster if you'd have been using your sirens," the woman told him darkly. "And it's Ms. Don't be patronising me by calling me Miss."

"So where's this kid?" Lachie asked, figuring he was helping Vince out.

"There is no kid. It's a Munchkin," the woman snapped at him. "It's Anabella Sierra Sloane III."

Lachie glanced at Felicity, who shrugged back at him, just as confused. "I thought you couldn't call them munchkins anymore," Lachie muttered. "Isn't it politically incorrect."

"I am not talking about little people," the woman cried, stamping her foot. "Anabella Sierra Sloane III is a pedigree, you imbecile!"

Felicity squinted up at the tree. In between the budding leaves she finally made out what the woman was referring to. "Did you call us out here to get a cat out of a tree?" she asked, slowly.

"Of course she didn't, Flickety-Split," Vince told her, before turning to the woman. "Because that would be wasting Rescue's time," he added in a warning tone.

"Do not look at me like that," the woman told him, wagging her finger at him. "None of you firemen ever take me seriously, but Anabella Sierra Sloane III is a pedigree."

"So you said," Felicity muttered, catching Vince's expression as the woman referred to them as fierys. She brought her hand up over her eyes, staring up at the cat. "Is that a kitten?"

"It's not a kitten. She's a Munchkin. It's a pe-"

"Pedigree," Lachie finished. "We know."

"Look," Felicity sighed, turning her attention back on the angry owner. "I know it's a big tree, and a rather small cat, but trust me, if a cat can get up there, they can get down as well. You just need to wait her out."

"I'm not waiting anything out," the woman told her, haughtily. "You are going up that tree and you are getting Anabella Sierra Sloane III out of there. She's all alone. If she falls, the fall will kill her."

While Lachie tried (and failed) not to laugh, Felicity rolled her eyes and looked to her supervisor, waiting for him to chew the owner a new one about wasting the time of the emergency services... but he folded his arms, smirking somewhat, and turned to his waiting team members. "So, which one of you is going up?"

Lachie quickly stopped laughing as Felicity's mouth fell open. "Seriously?" Felicity questioned in disbelief.

Vince shrugged. "I still need to see Lachie in action before I let him out with you lot, so let him practice on a cat."

The owner rounded on Vince, furiously. "Anabella Sierra Sloane III is not just a _cat._ She is a pedigree!"

"I couldn't care less if she was a tiger," Vince finally snapped back at her. "Calling Rescue for a cat extraction from a tree is wasting our time. I should call the police and press charges, so thank your lucky stars I'm letting these two go up."

The woman flapped her mouth opened and closed. "Fine. But she's going up," she said, pointing at Lachie. "Anabella Sierra Sloane the Third doesn't like men. He's just going to scare her away."

"I can't believe we're entertaining this," Felicity muttered, as she and Lachie headed to the boot to grab the rope and harness.

"Well, Anabella Sierra Sloane _the Third_ is a pedigree, you know," Lachie pointed out, mimicking the woman.

"Is she really?" Felicity asked with mock amazement. "I thought she had escaped from the Wicked Witch of the West." The two looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Are you even going to be able to reach the lower branches?" Lachie asked, sniggering.

"Yes," Felicity replied, backhanding his arm. "I'm not that short."

"You're like four foot, nothing," he pointed out.

Felicity stared at him. "And just when I was starting to like you. I'm five foot six, thank you very much," she added, giving him a withering glare before storming off to the tree.

"What do you mean, 'starting' to like me?" Lachie called after her.

* * *

><p>"These windows are looking pretty good," Michelle muttered at Heidi as she made her way to Jordan. "How's it going?" she asked him.<p>

Jordan glanced up. "Rescue One are packing up now."

"And Rescue Two?" Michelle queried.

Jordan sniggered. "Cat, not kid. Flick's up a tree, now."

Michelle's lips pressed together in a thin line. "They're pulling a cat out of a tree?" she repeated, half convinced she had misheard Jordan.

"That's what Vince said," Jordan agreed.

Michelle shook her head in disbelief. "You tell Vince I want to see him when he gets back," she muttered, returning to her office.

"Are they really rescuing a cat?" Heidi asked as soon as Michelle had shut the door behind her.

Jordan sat at the desk, drumming a pen against the surface, before finally addressing his girlfriend. "Is withholding sex really not going to work?"

"Jordan, I am not going seeing a shrink!" Heidi exclaimed. Suddenly she didn't even care what Rescue Two were up to. She threw the rag at Jordan, not even waiting to see it hit his face, before she had headed straight for the stairs.

"Heidi!" Jordan called after her, running down the stairs, catching her by the lockers. "Heidi, where are you going?"

"I don't know," Heidi told him, angrily. "But I've had enough of this."

Jordan stepped in front of the redhead, stopping her from taking a step towards the door. "What is going on with you? Why is it so important to you that you don't go see a psychiatrist?"

"Why is it so important to everyone that I do?" Heidi shot back at him.

"Heidi, whilst I love you for saving my life, you could have killed yourself in the process. Just take a step back for a moment and look at it from anyone else's point of view," he said hurriedly. "If any other member of the team had done the same, do you not think they'd need to speak to someone about it?"

"Any other member of the team isn't in love with you," Heidi told him, stamping her foot. "I am. The thought of losing you..." she trailed off. "If I go see someone, and explain why I did what I did – that's it. We're out in the open and one of us is getting transferred out of here, or worse, put on opposing shifts. We'll never see each other."

"There's protocol in place for a reason, and you didn't follow it," he said, as gently as he could. "I know you're scared about Michelle finding out about us, but you _need _to talk to someone. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for me. Please?" he begged. "Surely an hour with a psychiatrist is better than day after day of cleaning?"

Heidi stared up into his brown eyes and finally sighed. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Felicity wasn't afraid of heights. She also enjoyed climbing trees – she had been something of a tomboy (much to her father's disappointment) in her younger years and because of her slim frame, had an ability to wrap her body around a tree and beat the other boys to the top. However, this Bay Fig she was climbing was easily over forty feet high, and swaying quite heavily in the spring breeze. She had used the rope to anchor herself to the trunk, with Lachie taking her weight below, but the damn cat had made its way to the outer branches, and despite the fact its owner was adamant it liked women, it was hissing and spitting at her.<p>

"Here kitty, kitty," she muttered, inching her way along the branch.

Back on the ground, Lachie pulled his attention away from Felicity, lost in the branches, and to his superior. "Vinnie, you want to take the anchor for me?" he asked, not giving Vince the chance to object to Lachie's name choice, before he had unhooked the rope and thrust it at Vince. Ignoring Vince's protests, Lachie found his footing and hauled himself up onto the first branch, making his way up to where Felicity was clutching at a protesting cat as she tried to get back to the trunk.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked in alarm.

"Helping you, goldfish" he grinned. "You want to give me Anabelle Sierra Sloane III to me?"

"Happily," Felicity told him, returning the grin. The cat fought her every step of the way, and didn't let up when Lachie took it from her.

"You can have it back!" Lachie yelped as it dug its claws firmly into triceps.

Felicity climbed down a few branches below Lachie, found a grip, and reached up (reluctantly) for the cat. "Okay, ready."

"Just a sec," Lachie requested through gritted teeth as he prised the cat free from his arm. He refrained from throwing it away from him, and instead handed it to Felicity, then, he made his way below her. Finally, he was standing on the ground, Felicity on the branch above him, trying to pluck the cat's claws from her ribcage.

"I hate this cat!" Felicity exclaimed.

"It's not a cat!" her owner objected. "_She _is a pedigree. She is Anabella Sierra Sloane _the Third_!"

"And her initials spell ASS!" Felicity yelled down at her, yanking the cat away from her. It yowled, swiped at her drawing blood on her cheek, then with a final meow, jumped down and into her owners arm. The movement unbalanced her, sending her tumbling from the branch. The rope tightened, halting her fall, just as Lachie caught her.

"Saving you again," he smirked.

"The rope saved me," Felicity told him, spluttering. "Vince saved me."

"Vince did save you," Vince agreed, looking less than impressed. "Because you abandoned your position, Lachie. So put Flick down and gather the rope in. And get used to it, because you and the ropes are going to get very well acquainted over the next few weeks. Flick, don't help him." He gave Lachie another unimpressed look before marching over to the now delighted cat owner.

"He seems pissed," Lachie mused.

"That's because he is. Which, for the record, so am I," Felicity grunted. "Put me down."

* * *

><p>Rescue Two backed into the station minutes behind Rescue One. Felicity got out of the truck quick enough to witness Vince storm upstairs, followed closely by Lara – both somehow wearing matching dark expressions - while Dean and Lachie marched into the changing rooms, looking equally as pissed.<p>

Chase walked over to Felicity, joining her in leaning back against Rescue Two. "What the hell is going on in this station?" he asked her.

"I'd go for which two Gallagher brothers are asses, for $500," Felicity shrugged.

Chase turned his head and gave her a puzzled expression. "I thought you and Lachie were getting on?"

Felicity pulled a face. "Lachie is a cocky ass."

"Lachie's a sound guy," Chase told her.

"Maybe he is," Felicity told him. "But for someone who was in the army, he has trouble following orders. Hence, Vince's bad mood. So he's grounded, hence his bad mood."

"Ah," Chase muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Any insight into Dean and Lara?"

Felicity let out a dry bark of laughter. "Yeah – don't get involved unless you're asked. That's a whole other kettle of fish."

"Two brothers in a bad mood," Chase sighed. "How would you feel about a couple of games of pool in the pub?"

"My other option is planning a wedding. I'm in," Felicity hurriedly agreed.

* * *

><p><em>Firstly, apologies for my disappearing act (again). Alas, this does tend to be a frequent habit. Secondly, thank you for the alerts, and the messages me prompting me to update sooner. It really does kick the guilt in and work, so really - thank you!<em>

_retardedgazelle - I'm with you on season 3. Definitely my favourite - and definitely because of Lawson and Josh. That episode in the forest was BRILLIANT! You'll have to see with the wedding._

_Rescuelover - Over 70 reviews is phemonenal! I can't believe people like my story! I'm sorry I'm being so sucky at updating. I'm already working on the next chapter :)_

_MMC Gang - LOL, don't worry - I'm just sorry for the long time between updates!_

_Spbabe9 - I really do feel bad about going so long without updating! But thank you!_


	18. Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 1

**But Who's Going To Save You?**

**Chapter 18: Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 1**

Spring was hitting the area in full force. If it wasn't for the fact it was only October, and she was literally on the other side of the world, Felicity was half convinced the April showers had hit. It had been raining heavily all night long but thankfully, it was finally starting to let up. Felicity parked her car and dashed over to where Lara was waiting for her, shielding herself from what was now drizzle with a bright blue umbrella.

"Please tell me we don't have to wait for Heidi?" Lara begged.

Felicity shook her head. "She's not coming. Apparently she's booked in with a psychiatrist."

"Yeah, right," Lara scoffed. "What's she really doing?"

"I'm being serious," Felicity insisted. "Her text said she couldn't make it because it clashed with the quote, stupid shrink appointment," she told her, complete with finger quotations. "I'm going to have to come back tomorrow afternoon with her."

Lara frowned. "So why are we still standing out here?" She turned on the spot and pushed the door to the bridal boutique open, hurriedly closing her umbrella.

As the door chimed, announcing their arrival, an assistant, followed closely by a very familiar looking leggy blonde, hurried over. "Miss Lowe?" the assistant queried, looking at the blonde for validation.

"That's me," Felicity confirmed, frowning slightly at the presence of Cole's PR agent, Lucinda.

"Wonderful!" the assistant beamed, suddenly producing three champagne flutes. "Your dress is ready to try on."

Felicity's eyebrows furrowed closer together. "I haven't picked a dress, and I'm sorry," she added, turning to Lucinda. "But why are you here?"

Lucinda lips pressed together in a thin line. "Cole asked me to help with the wedding. He said you were busy with work and wouldn't have time to arrange it."

"Why wouldn't I have time to arrange it?" Felicity asked, still confused. "It's not like there's much to organise."

"There's not much to organise?" Lucinda muttered, looking less than impressed. "You have two weeks, and close to a hundred guests."

Felicity, inhaled the champagne, rather than swallowing, and sent the bubbles soaring up into her nose. "How many?" she gasped, choking on the liquid, as it sent tears streaming from her eyes.

"Your friends and family," Lucinda sighed. "Then there's the majority of the rugby team, plus a few guys Cole has known throughout his career, as well as their wives or girlfriends. A few of them have children..."

"Are you alright?" Lara asked, seeing how pale her friend had gone.

"I will be," Felicity nodded, finishing the rest of her drink in one.

Lara took a deep breath and gently grasped the brunette's elbow. "We'll be right back," she informed Lucinda and the assistant, before leading Felicity away from the women and over by the window. "Breathe. It's just a wedding."

"I just wanted something small," Felicity muttered. "Something small I could organise myself, and not something with _her_ involvement."

Lara looked over at the blonde in question, her expression thoughtful. "Do I know her?"

Felicity sighed, staring out the window. "She's the PR woman for the team. Though recently, it feels like she's Cole's personal assistant. And apparently, she's now a wedding planner," she explained, omitting the fact she was also the 'winner' of the raffle from the car wash.

"What do you want to do?" Lara asked her. She waited, patiently, for a response, but when none came, she peered in the direction Felicity was staring. "Is that Zoe?"

Felicity nodded, wishing she hadn't made it so obvious that she was staring. Across the road, standing under the awning of jewellery store was Zoe, her son on one side, and a man that wasn't Dean holding her hand on the other. Even from this distance it was clear they were pointing at rings. "It could be a brother?" Felicity suggested upon seeing Lara's startled look.

"If that's her brother, that's one messed up family," Lara murmured as Zoe and the man kissed in a way one never wanted to see siblings react to one another.

"Yeah, maybe not," Felicity nodded in agreement. She glanced at Lara. "Are _you_ okay?"

Lara shrugged, giving her a bright smile. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Okay," Felicity said, drawing out the word. "Are you going to tell Dean?"

"Nope," Lara responded, shortly.

Felicity blinked. "You're not?"

Lara shook her head. "No. I'm not. I told him about Zoe's kid and he told me it was none of my business. Even you said I shouldn't have said anything."

"Yeah, but-"

Lara held her hand up, cutting Felicity off. "I'm staying out of it. I am officially done with Dean Gallagher – I've even joined a dating website. So if you want Dean to know, you can tell him yourself."

Felicity stared at her, her mouth flapping about as she tried to find the words. "What in God's name-"

She was cut off again, this time by Lucinda clearing her throat. "Sylvia has other clients booked in, you know. Do you want me to rearrange this for another time?"

"No, we're good," Lara told her.

Lucinda turned to Felicity, who nodded. "No, it's fine." She half turned to Lara. "We'll continue this later," she informed her friend.

"Good," Lucinda said, her lips set back in a thin line. "You need to try this dress on."

"What dress?" Felicity asked, slightly exasperated a she followed Lucinda over to the dressing room.

"Cole found a dress. I checked your size and let Sylvia know. Effectively, it's your final fitting," Lucinda explained.

_She __checked __her __size?_ The only way Lucinda could have done that was to go through her wardrobe, and regardless of the circumstances, Felicity wasn't entirely certain that thought pleased her. Nor did the thought that Lucinda had been in her apartment without her. In fact, she wasn't sure she liked the idea of Cole choosing her wedding dress for her. If nothing else, wasn't it bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding? Before she could voice the thoughts, Sylvia had presented her with the dress. And everything else was forgotten. It was beautiful. Even Lara let out a gasp.

"I'll take the stunned silence means you like it?" Sylvia asked.

Felicity nodded, still speechless as she allowed Sylvia to lead her into the cubicle.

"Is it on yet?" Lara called, impatiently.

"Kinda," Felicity called back, before shuffling out of the cubicle. It was a gorgeous white dress with a full skirt and diamante details over the bodice. But it was also tight enough that Felicity knew she couldn't sit down in it. "It's a bit small."

Sylvia nodded. "We'll have to take it out a fair bit," she told her, making Felicity feel rather uncomfortable.

"Which dress did you use for the measurements?" she asked Lucinda, trying to sound curious rather than accusatory.

"That black and pink floral thing," Lucinda shrugged. "Maybe you've put weight on."

Felicity bristled. "Maybe you can't take down measurements correctly," she muttered under her breath. There was no way she had put on that much weight – the dress in question was comfortable on, and none of her other clothes felt tight. "Well, while I'm getting re-measured," she said, addressing Lara. "Why don't you find a bridesmaid dress?"

Lucinda shook her head. "Already done. I just need your size," she told Lara.

Minutes later, Lara was being presented with the dress. It was a nice shape dress – strapless with an a-line shape which fell to just below the knees. The problem was the colour. "Coral?" Felicity exclaimed. "I'm not having my bridesmaids in coral."

"It's a wonderful colour and all the arrangements in the hotel have been ordered," Lucinda shrugged.

"It may well be a wonderful colour, but it's not going to suit Heidi and I'm not doing that to her. And who the hell chose coral?" Felicity demanded. "Green and gold. That's the colours, and all three girls will suit green."

"Cole chose it," Lucinda informed her. "And the decorations have been ordered. They were already done on short notice – we can't change it now."

If it wasn't for the fact Sylvia was far too close to her stomach with a handful of pins, Felicity would have throttled her.

"Flick!" Lara exclaimed. "We have to go."

Felicity blinked, turning her attention to Lara. She was waving her phone at her. "Huh?"

"Lachie and Chase are on the way to pick us up. We've got a situation."

"We're not done here," Sylvia hurriedly told them.

"Oh, but we are," Felicity returned, reaching for the zipper as she hurried back into the changing room. By the time she had re-emerged, Lachie and Chase were already waiting for them in Rescue Two.

* * *

><p>"Righto," Vince announced from the mobile command centre which had been set up under the gazebo, protecting the equipment from the rain. "We have two newlyweds missing somewhere in this area," he explained, indicating to a large area on the map. "Mother of the bride said they were due back two days ago."<p>

"Perhaps they're enjoying their honeymoon," Felicity muttered, tying her boot laces. She was still in a bad mood with her own wedding.

The tone in her voice earned her a frown from Michelle. "Her mother has informed us she's sixteen weeks pregnant and was due for a check-up yesterday."

"We'll split up into three teams," Vince announced.

"I'll go with Chase," Lara announced, earning a surprised look from the younger Gallagher brother.

""No, I'll go with you," Felicity told her, giving her a pointed look.

"How about I organise the teams?" Vince suggested, rhetorically. "Dean, you and Chase are team A. I want you searching this area." He pointed to an area on the map, before indicating to another. "Lara, you and Jordan can take this area – you're team B. Lachie, Flick... you're with me. We're taking the ridge."

"What about Heidi?" Jordan asked.

"Heidi is otherwise engaged," Michelle responded, shortly.

"Look, I know this area," Vince continued. "Radio and mobile phone reception is intermittent at best. We will be the middle men between base and teams A and B in the valley."

"We only have a few hours before we lose the daylight, so you'd best get moving," Michelle added.

* * *

><p>Knowing they weren't likely to have phone reception for much longer, Felicity took the opportunity to call Cole and let him know that there was a very good chance she wouldn't be home that night.<p>

"_What __did __you __think __of __the __dress?_" he asked her.

"It's beautiful," Felicity admitted. "Not that Lucinda could get my measurements right. The dress was too tight."

"_Well, __baby, __I __didn__'__t __want __to __say __anything, __but __you __have __put __some __weight __on __recently.__"_

Felicity stopped short. Thankfully she was taking up the rear of group and Vince was none the wiser as he ploughed on along the trail. "I have not put any weight on," she told him.

"_Baby, __you __have,__"_ Cole insisted. "_I __don__'__t __mind __that __you__'__ve __got __a __bigger __arse. __I __like __it. __There__'__s __more __to __grab __hold __of.__"_

Felicity twisted, trying to look at her backside in profile. If anything she had lost weight, not gained it, and she was getting increasingly annoyed that her ass of a fiancé was insisting otherwise. "Cole, there's a shepherd's pie in the fridge. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, responded, shortly.

"Hey, goldfish!" Lachie called. "Everything alright?"

"It's Felicity," she told him, warily as he watched her thrust her phone back into her pocket.

"So how's the wedding planning going?" Lachie asked as they caught up with Vince.

Felicity let out a noncommittal grunt.

"That good," Lachie noted. "What about your family? When do they fly in?"

Clearly he wasn't getting the message that she wasn't in the mood to be discussing what was turning out to be a wedding from hell. Who'd have thought Cole would be turning out to be a Groomzilla. Felicity sighed. "My sister, Rose, is due in next Saturday with her kids."

"What about your parents?" Lachie pressed.

"They're not coming," Felicity shrugged.

Lachie glanced at her, pulling a face. "Lachie," Vince warned.

Lachie ignored him. "They're not coming?" he repeated. "What is your dad doing that's more important than walking you down the aisle and giving you away?"

"Time," Felicity muttered.

"What?" Lachie asked.

"Drop it, Gallagher," Vince told him.

"Time?" Lachie pressed, ignoring Vince. It earned him a smack upside the head from the station coordinator.

"Yes, time," Felicity told him. "My dad is in prison."

"Well who's going to walk you down the aisle?" Lachie asked.

"Do you not know when to shut up, Lachie?" Vince asked him in exasperation.

"I can walk myself down the aisle," Felicity told him, catching the apologetic look Vince was giving her. He knew. As did Michelle – it was something she'd had to declare when they questioned the address of her emergency contact. Cole had taken one spot, and the other – she'd considered writing her sister down, but she wasn't good in a crisis. Besides, it wasn't like her father wouldn't be around to take the call for the next decade.

"How about you zip it now and pay attention to where you're going," Vince suggested, glaring at Lachie. "All this rain will have made this area unstable and the last think we need is you falling over that cliff," he jabbed his thumb to the left. "Satisfying as that would be."

"Why, Vincent," Lachie mock exclaimed. "That's not very nice."

"I'm not a very nice person," he glared back at him, resuming the lead.

"You know, you could have paired me up with Chase," Lachie shrugged.

"Oh yeah, because that's a brilliant idea," Vince told him sarcastically. "No, you stay with me so I can keep an eye on you."

"And what about goldfish?"

"It's Felicity," Felicity told him through gritted teeth. Honestly, she had no idea who was annoying her more today – Cole or Lachie.

"Short straw," Vince shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Heidi really went to see someone?" Lara finally asked Jordan. They had been walking silence for the best part of two hours, short of their calls for the missing party – Julian and Patricia.<p>

Jordan nodded, checking his phone for quite possibly the hundredth time. Not that it did much good. The signal had dropped out about fifteen minutes after they had split from the others. Heidi would have gotten out from the psychiatrist about now, and he couldn't call her to see how it had gone. "You think Michelle will let her back in the field now?"

"I don't know," Lara admitted. "I suppose it depends on what the psychiatrist says."

Jordan looked surprised. "You don't think she'll be let back out?"

"I really don't know," Lara repeated.

"Do you think it would help if I told Michelle we were together? You know – that's why she acted the way she did?" Jordan suggested.

Lara thought about it, finally shaking her head. "No, not really. I think she's going to have to find out eventually, but not this way."

"I wonder how she's getting on?" he mused.

* * *

><p><em>Elizajo - I'm still gutted about it, but I'm also holding on to the belief that this is all one bug publicity stunt and Nine are going to turn around in the new year and go 'surprise! We bought it back!'... Well, a girl can hope!<em>

_meddrama - LOL, for some reason I really enjoy writing him doing that, so I think it may happen again!_

_MMC gang - why thank you - and I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, this time!_

_Rescuelover - I think it was forever! Vince is my favourite character, but combine him with Lachie and I'm in heaven - they just play off each other so well, so it makes me happy to write them!_


	19. It's Good to Talk Heidi

_I have um-ed and ah-ed about posting this chapter all week. In all honesty, I very nearly didn't. And that's largely because I think it sucks BALLS...! To say this chapter is way out of my comfort zone is something of an understatement. I am not a shrink. I am not a psychologist, nor a psychiatrist, nor a doctor of any kind. The closest I got was a psychology a-level, in which I think I scraped a C, and the ONLY thing I can remember from it is Pavlov's Dogs. Also, despite the fact a shrink would probably have a field day with me; I have never been to see one. So plenty of reason as to why I probably shouldn't post. _

_However, a big thanks to AsandCastle103 who did convince me I should go for it, so here it is!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You<strong>

**Chapter 19: It's Good To Talk (Heidi)**

Normally Heidi didn't mind the rain. Her favourite thing to do when it was falling in big fat droplets was to sit in a car, listening to it hammer on the metal roof whilst watching it run down the windscreen in a constant waterfall. Normally, she didn't even mind the drizzle. But today, as her mum would say, it was the kind of drizzle which soaked you through.

And soaked through she was.

She was originally going trying on bridesmaid dresses with Lara and Felicity, but at the last minute Michelle had rung to let her know the psychiatrist had a lunchtime opening – did she want it? Well, no, she didn't. But... she had made a promise to Jordan.

She had sent Felicity a very apologetic text message and rearranged a time to find her a dress. Then she'd called Jordan and let him know the change in plans. As he was at work, he got called away by Vince to do something. So she was left with nothing to do for a couple of hours.

She'd made herself some breakfast. Watched some television. Washed up the breakfast dishes. Channel surfed some more. Checked her facebook. Got some washing going...

In the end, she had grabbed a jacket and headed out, figuring that walking to the practice would kill plenty of time. It hadn't been raining when she had walked out the door, and with her mind occupied, it hadn't even occurred to her to take an umbrella with her, much less choose a jacket with a hood. It wasn't until she was over half way there that the heavens opened and the rain came down in a torrential downpour.

Heidi pulled her collar up, stuck her hands in her pocket – partly so that they would get slightly warmer, and partly so her mp3 player had a little more protection than the thin fabric was offering. With her head bowed against the rain, she picked up the pace.

The buildings on the street the practice resided were all the same looking multi-storey structures and half of them weren't numbered, nor did they have a helpful sign outside. In the end, she had to resort to stepping into three foyers before she spotted the name on a list next to the elevators.

By this time, there wasn't an inch of her that wasn't drenched. Her hair was plastered to the side of her head, and much to her horror, when Heidi examined her reflection in the brass work as she waited for the elevator to get to the right floor, her mascara was streaking.

Checking her watch, Heidi realised she was a good twenty minutes early. Abandoning the lift, she ducked into the toilets she'd just spotted in an attempt to make herself look less like a drowned rat than she did. Unfortunately, the best she could manage was to wipe the panda eyes away, scrape her hair back into a ponytail, and dry her jacket off slightly under the dryer.

With a sigh, Heidi rested her weight against the side and leant in towards the mirror. "Stop procrastinating," she muttered to her reflection. "The sooner you get this over and done with, the sooner you can get out of that damn station and do some real work."

Behind her a toilet flushed and from out of the cubicle emerged a ridiculously tall woman with short spikey hair and a nose stud. She gave Heidi a bright smile. "You know what they say about talking to yourself?"

Heidi slowly shook her head.

"First sign of madness," the woman added. "But then again, if you're on this floor," she shrugged, washing her hands.

Heidi gave her an awkward smile and then hurriedly vacated the ladies, heading straight for the empty reception desk. And then nose stud girl sat down behind the desk and gave her the same bright smile. "You must be here to see Charlie."

"Heidi Wilson," she offered.

"Second door on your left. Just go in."

It was tempting not to, especially with the delightful insight the receptionist had shared with her, but Heidi went in. It was a nice office, with what was effectively a wall of window, providing a nice view of the harbour area. The walls were a pleasant yellow and the furniture was all thick, dark, chunky wood, covered in an array of plants and pictures. At the back of the room was a large desk, but as it only had one chair behind it, Heidi figured she was supposed to sit on one of the large, comfortable looking chocolate leather sofas. However, as she was still far too wet to be sitting on leather, she headed over to the window. It had stopped raining.

"Heidi, it's a pleasure. I'm Charlie, by the way," a voice informed her. "And you know you can sit down?"

Heidi turned. The owner of the voice was an average looking middle-aged guy with greying hair and friendly blue eyes. "I would, but I'm drenched."

Charlie gave her a pitying look. "How about we take that jacket of yours?" He cocked his head. "And you can take your shoes off and get those and your socks drying too?" he offered.

It felt weird taking her socks and shoes off, but Heidi did it – her toes were already starting to feel cold and uncomfortable. Charlie took them off her and draped the items over the radiator in the corner. "I'll just switch this one on, but if it gets too warm let me know," he told her, before offering her a blanket.

Heidi wrapped the offered item around herself and sat on the couch while Charlie took the other. He sat down and settled one ankle on his knee, before resting a notepad against his thigh. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say," Heidi admitted after waiting for him to speak.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here?" he suggested.

"I thought you knew why I was here," Heidi shot back at him, defensively.

"Heidi, relax," he told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm not trying to catch you out and I'm not trying to ensure that you never get back in the field."

"Then what are you trying to do?" she asked suspiciously.

"I want to make sure that you're doing alright," he assured her. "You have a highly stressful job, and to be completely honest, I personally think all of you should have regular, mandatory appointments."

Heidi wrapped the blanket closer around her, chewing on her lip as she considered the man in front of her.

"If it helps, everything you say will remain completely confidential," Charlie added.

"Don't you have to report back to Michelle?" Heidi asked.

Charlie nodded. "I do, but she doesn't need to know the details."

Heidi took a deep breath and sank back into the couch. "I'm here because I saved a colleague's life." When Charlie didn't press for more details, but rather watched her expectantly, she sighed, pulling her hands out from under the blanket so she could fiddle with her fingernails. "I'm here because I saved a colleague's life by going against protocol. Only, he's not just a colleague – he's my boyfriend."

"I take it no one else knows that he's your boyfriend?" Charlie asked, his pen scratching across the notebook as he took notes.

"Michelle and Vince don't know," Heidi agreed. "I'm fairly certain everyone else knows."

"You consider it a problem if Michelle and Vince know?"

"Well, yeah," Heidi nodded. "I mean, I like the team as it is. I don't want moving onto a different shift, or worse, to a different station."

Charlie pulled a thin manila folder out from under the notepad and leafed through it. "I have here that the both of you were involved in a helicopter crash a few months ago. Your co-pilot and patient died."

"That wasn't my fault," Heidi quickly told him. "I was cleared of that – that was Lifeblood not maintaining the choppers properly."

Charlie held his hands up. "I'm not accusing you of anything," he assured her. "I just want to hear your version of events."

"Well what's to say?" Heidi shrugged. "The electrics failed, I did an emergency landing in the ocean, the co-pilot died on impact and the patient died in the sea. Jordan and I spent a night in the water, and then we were saved."

Charlie's pen flew across the page. "And how did that make you feel?"

"What kind of question is that?" Heidi demanded. "How do you think it made me feel? Like crap. Two guys died because of me – it was pure luck that me and Jordan lived through it."

"Pure luck?"

"The chances of surviving a helicopter crash are slim at best," Heidi explained. "I had no hovering capabilities and I was never going to make it to a landing strip."

Charlie paused in his writing to look over at her. "You say that the reason the helicopter came down was due to a mechanical fault, and you also say that you were lucky to have survived the crash – half of you didn't. So how is it your fault?"

"Because I was flying the helicopter," Heidi pointed out.

Charlie considered her carefully, placing his hands in his laps. "Do you not think, under the circumstances, that the fact you and," he glanced down at his notes. "Jordan survived is a credit to yourself and your flying skills?"

"No," Heidi snorted. "Because if it was due to my flying skills, all four of us would still be alive."

He carefully scribbled down a few more sentences before leafing through the file a second time. "Tell me about the prison bus crash."

Heidi pulled a face. "What do you need to know about that for? I didn't even get there until much later – most of the wounded had already been treated."

"I understand it was your first rescue after the crash," Charlie said.

Heidi shrugged. "So? Like I said, most of the patients had already been treated."

"And what about the prisoner that escaped. Sheree O'Brien?" he asked, referring again to the notes.

"Clearly it's all down there in front of you, so why are you bothering to ask me about it?" Heidi scowled, growing more annoyed with the psychiatrist.

"All I have here are the facts," Charlie told her. "What I want to know is your thoughts, and your feelings of the event."

"It was a rescue. I was concerned about making sure the patients were alright," Heidi shrugged.

Charlie sighed and settled back into the chair. "Heidi, I'm not the bad guy," he told her. "I want to help, but I can't do that unless you let me."

"Why do you think I need help?" Heidi demanded. "Why does everyone think I need help? I'm fine. I just want to get back to doing my job."

"Okay," Charlie said, shrugging in a nonchalant manner. "Why did you go against protocol to save your boyfriend's life?"

"Because he was going to die," Heidi snapped at him.

"But was he?" Charlie prodded.

"He had stopped breathing!" Heidi cried in exasperation. "His heart had stopped beating. If I hadn't have done CPR, he would be dead."

"And was that why you disobeyed orders and went chasing after Jordan and the escaped prisoner?" Charlie asked him.

"She was dangerous!" Heidi objected. "She could have done anything to him."

"But she didn't," Charlie pointed out.

"But she could have," Heidi retorted.

"Jordan could also get hit by a bus on his way home from work," Charlie suggested. "Does that mean you're going to jump out in front of every bus before he does – just in case?"

"No!" Heidi responded, pulling a face. "That's ridiculous!"

Charlie merely stared at her.

"I let him go down there alone," Heidi finally admitted.

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked her, looking confused.

"That's why I chased after him and Sheree. He saw something and I let him go and investigate by himself and then he was taken hostage by Sheree," Heidi explained. "I needed to make sure he was alright."

"You feel responsible for the hostage situation? That it was your fault?" Charlie asked, seeking clarification.

"No," Heidi shook her head. "Maybe. Yes. I knew there was an escaped convict – armed and dangerous – and when the police officer disappeared-"

"You had a police escort?"

"Of course we did. Did you not write down 'escaped convict' in your notes?" Heidi asked impatiently. "Only he buggered off and I let Jordan go it alone. I should have gone down with him."

"So you could both be held hostage?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Heidi let out a frustrated grunt. "No. Neither of us should have been held hostage."

Charlie quietly set the notebook and file down onto the couch next to him and uncrossed his legs. Very slowly he leant forward towards Heidi. "Why did you go against protocol to save your boyfriend's life? From what I've read, you had a whole team backing you up, and there were ambulances minutes away."

"I can't lose another life," Heidi snapped. "Alright? I can't lose him. It was a situation I could have control over and even though I knew I was breaking protocol, _I_ was doing it."

Charlie nodded, a small smile creeping over his lips. "Heidi, let me ask you this. Have you read the official report on the helicopter crash?"

Heidi shrugged. "I saw it. It was a mechanical failure – like I said."

Charlie shook his head. "No, have you _read_ it? From cover to cover? If my understanding is correct, you were also given the chance to go through it, step by step with an aviation official. Did you do that?"

"No," Heidi scoffed. "Why would I do that? It was mechanical failure. I know that."

"Perhaps so you would _know_ that," Charlie suggested.

Heidi pulled a face. "You are making no sense at all."

"I think I am," Charlie returned.

The frown turned into a scowl as Heidi considered what the psychiatrist was suggesting. "Are you saying that I don't know the crash was due to a mechanical failure?"

"You tell me," he smiled at her.

Heidi pulled another face then wrapped the blanket tightly around her. Wordlessly she rose to her feet and made her way back over to the window, glancing down at the cars several stories below them. "You're saying that even though I know it's a mechanical failure, I'm still blaming myself for the crash." She didn't look back to him, keeping her gaze on the traffic. "And somehow that's connected to me saving Jordan's life?" she finally glanced back at him, shaking her head. "That's not right."

"Then what is it?" Charlie asked. Heidi chewed on her lip, turning her attention back out the window. He waited for a few minutes before speaking again. "Heidi?"

"Maybe there's some truth to that," she admitted quietly. "I guess I am blaming myself for it."

"Why?"

"Because I think there was something could have – _should_ have done."

Charlie returned his ankle to his knee and picked up the notepad again. "But if you had gone through the report with the aviation official, he would be able to tell you this: that there was nothing you could have done."

"You don't know that," Heidi told him.

"Neither do you," Charlie pointed out.

Heidi sighed. "True."

"So, why haven't you gone through it? And more importantly, why did you go against protocol?"

Heidi glared over at him. "You keep asking me that. Like the two are related."

Charlie kept his expression passive. "Aren't they?"

"No," Heidi replied, although she was beginning to doubt herself. When Charlie just met her gaze and held it, she frowned. "I guess they are," she realised.

From the other side of the room, Charlie relaxed back into the leather sofa and nodded. "So why haven't you gone through the aviation report, and why did you go against protocol?"

Heidi leant her shoulder against the glass, feeling the cold from outside seep through the blanket and to her skin. "Because I don't want to go back into a helicopter."

Charlie smiled. "And that is why you are here today," he told her. He gestured to the sofa opposite and waited until Heidi had sat back down. "By going against protocol, you know that your superiors will result in reprimanding you – in grounding you, so to speak. Which means you don't have to face going back in the helicopter. Am I right?"

Heidi nodded, finally feeling a weight be lifted from her. "I'm scared to go back up," she admitted. "I shouldn't have survived that crash. Next time..." she trialled off, shrugging. "I've used up all my luck."

"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I find'," Charlie told her.

"You're saying you make your own luck?" Heidi asked him.

"'Luck is believing you're lucky'," he added.

"Was that Jefferson as well?" Heidi asked, frowning.

Charlie shook his head. "Tennessee Williams.

"I see what you're getting at," Heidi told him. "But that doesn't mean I'm not scared of flying again."

"I know," Charlie agreed. "Which begs the important question: do you want to fly again?"

Heidi nodded. "Yeah, I do. I spent a fortune on learning to fly. And I love the feeling I get when I'm high above the ground, up in the clouds."

"And that's something I want to work on with you, if you'll let me?" he asked her.

Heidi slowly nodded. "I think I'd like that."

Charlie stood and Heidi's eyes flew to the clock, surprise washing over as she realised how long they had been in there. She followed suite and got to her feet, accepting her now dry socks, shoes and jacket, quickly slipping them all back on.

Charlie let her to the door. "I'll let you book another appointment with Ruby, but I look forward to working with you, Heidi."

Heidi gave him a smile. "Me too," she admitted.

"Oh, and Heidi," Charlie added as she turned to leave. She paused and glanced back. "Just tell yourself, Duckie: you're really quite lucky."

Heidi blinked. "Did you just quote Dr Seuss at me?"

"I did," he chuckled. "But in all seriousness, let me leave you a quote to ponder. 'You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do'."

After booking an appointment for the same time the following week, Heidi headed home – this time calling a cab. In the car she responded to a half dozen texts from Jordan, all asking her how it had gone. **Surprisingly ****well**, she text back. **It****'****s ****a ****lot ****to ****put ****in ****a ****text, ****so ****you ****finish ****this ****rescue ****and ****I ****will ****see ****you ****tomorrow ****and ****tell ****you ****everything. ****I ****promise. ****xxx**

As Michelle had let her have the rest of the day, and there was no message from the supervisor requesting her presence, Heidi figured she wasn't needed. Once home, she shed herself of her damp clothes, warming herself up in a hot bath. Then, only intending on having a quick nap, she got into bed and pulled the covers up around her.

* * *

><p>Heidi awoke feeling better than she had in a while, enjoying the feeling of a good stretch. A quick glance at the clock told her she had managed to sleep all through the night, much less the afternoon. Clearly, she needed the sleep. Beside her, her phone continued to vibrate at her. "Hi Michelle," she greeted her boss sleepily.<p>

"_Heidi, __are __you __awake?__"_ Michelle asked her.

Heidi frowned. "Yes," she responded slowly. "Michelle, what's wrong?"

There was a long pause before Michelle answered. "_Heidi, __I __need __to __ask __you __a __question, __and __I __need __you __to __answer __it __honestly.__"_

"Sure," Heidi agreed.

"_I haven't seen the report, so I don't know what the doctor has said, but we have a situation here-"_

"I'm there," Heidi told her, throwing the covers back and sitting upright.

"_Hold __on, __Heidi,__" _Michelle told her_.__ "__It__'__s __not __that __simple. __I __need __an __emergency __evac. __It__'__s __raining __heavily, __the __cloud __bank __is __low, __and __the __wind __is __picking __up. __I __need __a __chopper __pilot __and __a __good __one. __The __only __person __I __know __who __is __capable __of __pulling __this __off __is __you. __But __that__'__s __only __if __you __feel __up __to __it.__"_

Heidi glanced down at her lap. Before she had seen Charlie the day before, she would have answered with a straight out yes – just to prove a point. Now, part of her was concerned it was too soon to be flying again.

_The __crash __wasn__'__t __your __fault, _Charlie's words echoed in her head. Well no, maybe not. But that didn't mean she wanted to get back up in the air. Hell, the problem was, she wasn't certain she was capable of doing it.

"The hikers are in a bad way?" Heidi asked.

"_It__'__s __not __the __newlyweds,__"_ Michelle informed her. _"__It__'__s one of us - a snakebite and we __need __to __get the__m __to __a __hospital __immediately.__"_

"Shit!" Heidi exclaimed. Charlie's last quote echoed around in her mind. _You __gain __strength, __courage, __and __confidence __by __every __experience __in __which __you __really __stop __to __look __fear __in __the __face. __You __must __do __the __thing __which __you __think __you __cannot __do. _Someone needed her. Regardless of whether or not she thought she could do it, she _would_ do it.

"_Heidi?__" _Michelle pressed.

"I can do it," Heidi assured her. She got to her feet and pulled the curtains back, assessing the miserable weather outside. "Or I can at least give it my best shot."

The relief in Michelle's voice was obvious. "_Thank __God.__"_

* * *

><p><em>So, I have a question for y'all (and a poll set up in my profile ready to take your answers) - given the choice, would you rather long chapters with weekly updates, or shorter chapters with more updates? Or don't you care? <em>_And in other news, they cancelled Rush! WTF? Grrrrrr._

_MissShawnaAlice - Thank you! I haven't quite worked out that balancing act out yet - I really need to get back to reading!_

_MMC gang - I'm keeping my fingers crossed!_

_Recuelover - You don't like him? But he's so... charming..._

_Miss Deeds - I am trying very hard to make myself write a little each day. I did like Cole to start with and I certainly didn't intend on him turning into such a tool. I have plans for him. Which admittedly, might change. But he won't. LOL, I think I want to shout at the majority of them too!_


	20. Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 2

_I'm sorry! I honestly tried to post this on Saturday, but FF wouldn't let me!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 20: Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 2**

Back in the bush, it was still raining. Up on the ridge, Felicity suspected they were getting the worse of it with their lack of shelter. It was also getting closer to sunset, as Vince kept reminding them. "If you two morons are still up here when the sun sets, you'll be sleeping here. We've got to make it to the clearing soon so we're not setting up camp in the dark. So make tracks!" he ordered, picking up speed.

"For an old man, he sure can move," Lachie muttered under his breath. He glanced back at Felicity. "Actually, I got a question for you."

"Oh god," Felicity groaned. "If you ask me about my dad one-"

"It's not about your dad," Lachie cut her off. "But it is related. Where's my wedding invitation? Chase and Dean have theirs."

"I bet your parents had fun with you three when you were little," Felicity told him, rolling her eyes. He was right. Everyone had their invitation except Lachie. It wasn't personal or intentional - he'd just had his day off when she'd brought them in and she hadn't seen him until earlier.

"What makes you think you're invited?" Vince scoffed. "Flick's doing the right think not inviting you."

"Vincent!" Lachie exclaimed, clutching at his heart. "That hurts me right here."

"Call me Vincent again and it will hurt you," Vince agreed under his breath.

Lachie turned his attention back to Flick. "I figure you owe me."

"And how on earth do you figure that?" Felicity asked.

Lachie shrugged. "Well I have saved your life. Twice," he explained, nonchalantly.

"Was I unconscious at the time?" Felicity asked, baffled. "Because I'm pretty certain you haven't saved my life."

"The cat up a tree?" Lachie hinted.

Felicity snorted. "Don't you mean Anabella Sierra Sloane III? She was a pedigree, don't you remember? And FYI, you saved me from maybe a bruise at best. Next?"

Lachie, who was smirking at the cat reference, nodded. "I think it counts. And the other time was when you fell off the Izuzu."

Vince whirled around and glared at Felicity with an eyebrow arched questioningly. "Fell from the Izuzu?" he repeated.

"I don't know what he's talking about," Felicity protested, trying to give her boss the most innocent looking smile she could.

"I'm sure you don't," Vince grunted. "But if I ever catch you being too lazy to get a ladder, I will make it your duty to wash that thing for its remaining lifespan. Understood?"

Felicity gave him a sheepish smile, nodding. As soon as Vince turned and continued walking, she swung her arm out, hitting Lachie in his gut. "Not the way to get me to hand over your invitation," she hissed.

Lachie just smirked. "Your shoelace is undone," he pointed out.

Felicity shot him a scathing look. "Like I'm falling for that one."

"I'm being serious," he said, laughing when she inspected her boots sceptically, then discovered to her surprise, he wasn't joking. "Catch up," he told her as she crouched down to pick at the knot.

"Oh, that's just charming!" she yelled after him.

Then the ground started shaking and there was a loud rumbling noise. Felicity looked up just in time to let out a blood curdling scream as an avalanche of mud and dirt cascaded down over. The force of it sent her flying, pushing her through a bush and over the edge of the ridge.

Lachie watched in horror, unable to get close because of the size of the mudslide. His hands flew frantically to his radio. "Vince! Get back here now!" he cried. He dropped to his knees, the river of mud and stones subsiding, and peered over the edge, looking for Felicity.

"Lachie, there's a protocol for radio..." Vince trailed off, surveying the scene in front of him. "Where's Flick?" he asked carefully.

Lachie leant further out. "Felicity!" he bellowed.

In an instant, Vince yanked him back by his backpack - just as another river of dirt came crashing down. "Stop shouting, you moron," he hissed at him. "All the rain has made the ground unstable."

"_Rescue __Base __Portable __to__ Rescue __Seven __Portable: __Lachie, __what__'__s __going__ on?_" Michelle radioed through, sounding concerned.

"We've lost Felicity," Vince explained, then realizing Michelle would need further explanation added, "Mudslide. It's taken her over the edge of the ridge."

"_Is__ she__ alright?_" Michelle asked in alarm.

"I don't know. I can't-"

"She's there!" Lachie said, pointing.

"_Vince?_"

Vince ignored Michelle and looked anxiously at where Lachie was pointing, praying he wasn't pointing at a body. Thankfully he wasn't. About halfway down the fifty foot drop was a young tree, its branches extending over the bush below. Clutching desperately to one of the branches, her grip obtained more by her armpits than her hands, was the Brit. "Rescue Portable Eight to all units: how close are you to my location? We're going to need some help here."

"_Rescue __Team__ Leader __to __Rescue __Eight __Portable: __Vince, __we__'__re __about __12__ clicks __west __of __your __location._" Dean quickly responded.

"Lara?" Vince tried, hopefully.

"_We__'__re__ forty__ minutes__ out,__"_ Lara radioed back.

"Shit," Vince muttered, before turning his attention back to Lachie. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, watching Lachie pull the backpack and kit from his shoulders.

"Getting down there, Vincent," he replied, matter-of-factly.

Lachie took two steps towards the edge, before he was pulled roughly back by Vince. "Lachie, she isn't a cat up a tree. If you are going to do this, you will do it properly, or not at all. That is a fifty foot drop. It won't hurt either of you if you fall. It will kill you both."

"Vince, that tree is already bowing under her weight. She doesn't have long," Lachie pointed out.

"Get a harness on," Vince ground out. "I'll get a rope secured."

Minutes later, Lachie was rappelling down the cliff face, complete with a harness, heading straight for Felicity. "Felicity, can you hear me?" he called gently as he grew near, not wanting to set off another landslide.

Felicity was clutching onto the thin trunk for all it was worth. The landing had winded her, but instinct had kicked in to hang on, and now her breathing was just about returning to normal. Her biggest problem was that she could barely open her eyes. The dirt had gotten into her eyes and she didn't dare move to wipe them clear. "Lachie? Is that you?"

Lachie let out a sigh of relief. "You didn't call for help," he told her, growing closer. "How are you doing?"

"No, because you tried that and it rained rocks again," she told him. "I can't see," she added. "I have dirt in my eyes, and catching my breath isn't the-"

"Goldfish, don't move!" Lachie commanded suddenly.

"I wasn't planning on doing a jig-"

"Felicity, just stay still," he hissed at her.

"Why?" Felicity asked carefully, trying to stop her body from moving.

"Just..." Lachie sighed. "What's your take on snakes?"

"Snakes?" Felicity repeated, her heart beat suddenly feeling like it had doubled in speed. "Oh god, what is it?" she asked. She opened her eyes, blinking madly as she tried to clear the grit from under her lashes.

"Felicity, stop" Lachie commanded, manoeuvring carefully to look at the snake. "I think it's just a python."

"Just?" Felicity hissed at him. "You need to do better than just!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he retorted, bringing himself level with the snake's head – it was slowly wrapping itself around Felicity's backpack and stomach. "Just bear with me while I get my phone out and Google it." Regardless of his words, he was certain it was a python. "Just relax."

"Relax?" Felicity scoffed. "I have no idea how big the fall is, and there is a snake eyeing me up for my lunch. I don't think relaxing is physically possible."

"Look, I'm certain it's a python. You need to stay still and it will release you," he instructed her.

"_Lachie, __sit__rep,__" _Vince barked, startling both Felicity and Lachie.

"I'm going to turn that off," Lachie muttered, reaching for the switch. "I don't think we need any sudden movements." Next to him, Felicity took a deep breath, puffing out her lungs as much as her aching ribs would allow her. "What are you doing?"

"I read that you need to inflate your lungs," she replied, her voice strained as she tried to keep her chest inflated. "Not moving and waiting for the snake to get bored could take a couple of hours."

"Felicity, I don't want to panic you, but I'm fairly certain that the tree isn't going to last another couple of hours," Lachie pointed out.

"Well how about you grab me and the snake and get me off the tree," Felicity suggested. She let out a little squeal as the snake moved around by the back of her neck. "Before it strangles me," she whispered.

"It's wrapped itself around you and the tree," Lachie admitted, quietly.

Felicity swallowed, trying hard not to cringe as she felt the tongue flicker by her ear. "Have you got any whiskey?"

"I don't think now is the time to be drinking," he responded, trying to keep the conversation light. "But I will buy you one later when we get out of here."

"It's not for me, it's for the snake," Felicity explained.

Lachie was baffled. "You don't have to buy the snake a drink to get some attention from it."

"No, I read somewhere that it will immobilise the snake, provided you can get the alcohol in its mouth."

"There's alcohol in the first aid kits. Do you think that would work?" he suggested, reaching for the small kit in his trouser pocket.

"Let's just hope it's a cheap date," Felicity told him.

Her response got half a smile out of Lachie as he located the alcohol. It was a small bottle – he was certainly hoping that the snake _was_ a cheap date. He moved closer to the Felicity – and the snake – and started to reach for the snake's head

"Wait," Felicity told him, sensing his hand near her.

"What?" he hissed, having nearly dropped the bottle.

"They bite," Felicity told him.

Lachie shook his head. "They're not poisonous."

"It doesn't mean they don't bite," Felicity told him.

Lachie ignored her, reaching carefully over and grabbing the snake behind the head. It hissed angrily, but Lachie was already sticking the bottle into its mouth and squeezing the liquid in. For a moment, Lachie didn't think it had worked. Then, the snake went limp. His hand momentarily loosened and the snake took the opportunity to whirl its head around and clamp its teeth into his hand. "Mother-" he started to hiss.

"What?" Felicity asked, straining to see her would-be rescuer. "Has it worked?"

Lachie dropped the alcohol bottle and grabbed the snake with his other hand, pushing the head away. "Bastard bit me," he grunted, struggling to uncoil the snake.

"Lachie," Felicity muttered nervously.

"I've got the head. I'm fine," he told her.

"No. The tree. I can feel it moving."

And that's when everything seemed to happen. Lachie took his attention away from the snake to assess the moving branch. The snake, its head seeming to be the only thing that was still conscious, snapped itself free from Lachie's grip and latched onto the closest thing available - Felicity's forearm - and Felicity screamed, her grip on the branch loosening.

Lachie dropped the snake and swung at Felicity, his hands getting a firm grim around her waist, just as the ground above them came raining down on them like a waterfall.

* * *

><p>12.4km west of the ridge, Chase and Dean were staring at each other in horror through the drizzle. "Rescue Eight Portable, repeat that?" Dean requested, sure he had heard wrong.<p>

"_I __said, __it __looks __like __a __snake,_" Vince responded.

"What kind?" asked Dean.

"_A__ big __one_," Vince retorted. _"I__ don't __know. __Your __moronic __brother __turned __his __damn __radio __off. __Could __be __a __python."_

"Do you want us to come back?" Dean asked, quickly doing the maths.

Evidently, so was Vince. "_No.__ You __keep__ looking__ for__ the__ hikers.__ You'll__ not__ make__ it__ here__ before__ nightfall.__You__ can__ help__ me__ carry__ out__ your __brother's__ body__ tomorrow__ once__ I've__ killed__ him."  
><em>  
>"No problem, Rescue One Portable out."<p>

"Are you serious?" Chase asked his brother, staring at him in amazement.

"About what?" Dean asked, barely paying him any attention as he assessed his map.

"About just leaving them there?" Chase cried.

Dean looked at him with a frown. "Chase, you heard Vince. We wouldn't make it halfway back before it got dark. We don't need to be stumbling around in the dark."

"What about Lachie and Felicity?" Chase demanded, looking torn. "We can't just leave them."

"What about this missing couple?" Dean countered. "We can't just leave _them_."

Chase reluctantly nodded. "I guess."

Dean sighed. "At least Lachie and Felicity have Vince. Lara and Jordan are close enough to help if needed, as well as the SES. For all you know, we could be all this couple have."

"What's a python doing on a cliff face?" Chase muttered, more to himself as the pair resumes their trek.

"Probably came down in the rock slide," Dean shrugged.

* * *

><p>"<em>Vince?<em>_ Vince!_" Michelle bellowed out of the radio's small speaker. "_Sit-rep!_"

Vince couldn't answer. He was watching another couple of tonnes of dirt and stone cascade down the cliff side, obscuring his view of the two newest Rescue members. Finally the waterfall subsided and Vince could see two bodies clinging to each other, thankfully with no snake in sight.

"Vincent, I'd appreciate a hand up," Lachie announced.

For a minute, Vince didn't know if he was relieved or pissed to hear his voice. He decided to settle for relieved. "'Chelle, they're both alive. I'm going to bring them up now. Over." Then he turned his attention to hauling the pair up.

It took a while, but between the combined efforts of Vince and Lachie, the three of them were finally safely on the top of the ridge. Around them, the final light of day was fading quickly.

Felicity flopped back onto the soaking ground, and allowed Vince to pour saline into her eyes. "How's that?" he asked her.

She blinked, peering up at him. "Like I'm swimming underwater with my eyes open," she told him. "But at least I can see."

Vince turned to Lachie. "And how are you?"

"Fine," Lachie responded, slightly thrown by Vince's concern.

"Good," Vince told him, before clipping him around the ear. "Don't you dare pull that stunt again!"

Four hours later and Vince's mood hadn't improved. Firstly, there had been no reports of the newlyweds being found – not even from SES. Secondly, because the three of them not only had to collect up their equipment, but both Lachie and Felicity's snakebites needed treating, the light had finally gone when they had left the ridge and they had to set up camp in the dark. Thirdly, having expecting to spend the night, all of them had brought tents to use. Felicity's had gone over the edge. Which meant Vince had to share his with Lachie... On top of all that, all the wood was soaked and they couldn't get the fire to do more than smoke. So Vince had declared it an early night.

Initially, Felicity had been grateful. Her body ached all over, her bite itched, and all she wanted to do was sleep. But now, alone in the tent, listening to the rain pour down over waterproof material, she couldn't sleep.

She was freezing. Her teeth were chattering as she shivered in her sleeping bag, and even though she was in some dry clothes, she still felt damp. She was also feeling guilty about snapping at Cole but even if she did have signal, her phone was ruined. On top of that, every time she closed her eyes, she had the distinct feeling of a snake slithering over her. In the end, she had resigned herself to the feeling that she was going to leave the Park tired and with a cold.

She was huddled up in the foetal position when movement at the zip up entrance to the tent had her bolting upright, reaching for her boot. With it poised above her shoulder, the door opened and Lachie quickly bustled in. "What the fu-?"

Lachie quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. "You'll wake Vince!" he whispered.

Felicity yanked her hand away and glared at him. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him.

"Shove over," he whispered, pulling his own boots off and leaving them by the entrance. When she didn't move, he glanced back at her. "I've been in tanks that are quieter than Vince's snoring," he sighed. "And he won't stop farting. I swear, one spark and that tent's going up."

"So?" Felicity asked.

"So, you lost your tent, and I did save your life," he pointed out.

Felicity shook her head. "I'm not sharing a tent with Vince either, especially not when-"

"I don't want you to share his tent, I want to share yours," Lachie quickly corrected her. "Please?"

"I don't know," Felicity muttered.

"Come on," he pleaded. "I'm not trying to make a move on you, but Christ, the other tent stinks." Felicity shrugged and shuffled over. "Thank you," he exclaimed in relief, rolling his scrunched up sleeping bag across the narrow floor and got in.

They lay there in silence for a while, until Felicity couldn't take it anymore. "How's your bite?"

In the darkness, her eyes made out Lachie lifting his hand – the bandage standing out. "It itches," he admitted.

"Mine too," Felicity agreed, subconsciously rubbing her bandaged forearm. "I just keep telling myself pythons aren't poisonous."

Lachie rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his arm. "How do you know so much about snakes? Don't tell me you've got one as a pet?"

"It's a long flight from England to Australia. I brought myself some books to keep myself occupied."

"Don't girls normally read about that glittery vampire from _Twilight_?" Lachie asked her.

"Glittery vampires?" she repeated, slowly. "How do you know they're glittery?"

Lachie shrugged. "Ex-girlfriend was obsessed with Robert Pattison. Lord knows why – he was a bit of a wimp."

"I wanted to work out what was going to kill me," Felicity said, rolling to face him. "I mean, the most venomous thing we have in the UK is the adder. I've never seen one, although we did have to get a guy off the moors after he had accidentally stood on one. As for spiders, apparently there's a False Widow, but again I've never seen it, and it's not actually poisonous. So, being as I was moving to a country which has about half of the top ten deadliest snakes, as well as the funnel web spider, I was damn well going to do some research."

"I thought you weren't scared of snakes?" Lachie asked.

"I'm not." Felicity frowned. "Although I'll admit they don't exactly rate as my favourite animal," she admitted, unable to stop the shiver going down her spine. "As for spiders, I'd scoop them up and throw them at my sister. I certainly won't be doing that here."

Lachie chuckled. "Nice."

"Yeah," Felicity sighed. "Me and Rose are polar opposites. She was the girly one. She enjoyed singing and painting and ballet. My parents tried with me. I mean, I enjoyed the singing lessons, though I never admitted it to them, but I was too busy, well, being a tomboy. She was always wearing makeup and pretty clothes, and I usually had grass stains and dirt covering me. She went to university and got a degree, moved to London, found herself a husband, got a job that pays her an obscene amount of money, then had the kids."

"You didn't get on?"

"Not really," Felicity told him. "It's kinda complicated."

Lachie shrugged. "You don't have to tell me. Though I did save your life."

Felicity couldn't help but roll her eyes. "How long are you going to keep using that one?"

"I don't know," Lachie smirked. "What do you value your life at?"

"Has anyone ever pointed out how annoying you are?" Felicity muttered, shifting to make herself a little more comfortable. "I'll tell you, but not because you saved my life. We're half sisters. Her mum and my dad were together first, then they separated and he got with my mum and had me. Then, when I was four, my mum died and it was just us three. She always blamed my mum for dad leaving her mum, and then when she was gone, it focused on me. I don't think it helped that I cut all the hair of her Barbie dolls. When she went to university, she never came back." She stared up at the tent ceiling, listening to the rain. It was getting heavier. "My dad started drinking. That's why he's in prison. Drink driving. He killed someone." There was a long pause and she let out an awkward laugh. "Well, that was a conversation killer," she muttered, rolling onto her other side.

"I'm sorry," Lachie quickly apologised behind her. "I just didn't know what to say."

"It's fine. Most people don't," Felicity sighed. "It's why I don't really tell anyone."

"So does this mean I've earned my invitation to the wedding, goldfish?" he asked suddenly.

Felicity blinked and turned back to him. "Yeah, alright," she muttered. "S'long as you quit calling me goldfish," she added, punching his shoulder.

"Not going to happen," he told her, barking out a laugh.

"Why is it so important to you to get to my wedding?" Felicity asked curiously.

Lachie shrugged. "The bridesmaids."

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. "My bridesmaids are my very married and highly irritating sister, and Heidi and Lara. Sadly, I don't think you're going to get anywhere with any of them," she pointed out. She smiled, sliding her hand under her cheek. "You know, when you're not being annoying, you're alright. And thank you. For saving my life."

* * *

><p><em>I have gotten carried away, I know<em>,_ but I had fun writing it!_

_Also, I know I don't say it enough, but thank you for all your reviews, pms, alert and fav adds! You do make me happy!_

_Miss Deeds - Order accepted and should be with you in the next chapter! That chapter was completely out of my comfort zone, but I'm relieved it worked. I tend to get carried away when writing, so it will probably be a long fic with long chapters!_

_retardedgazelle - LOL, yes you are - you need to update! Although I understand if you have your hands otherwise occupied. I'm with you on the next addiction - you'll have to let me know if Nine or Ten manage to produce something worthy of as a replacement!_

_meddrama - was that enough Lachie for you? The more I watch the show, the more I love him. It was a shame it took until the last episodes for him to appear :(_

_Spbabe9 - I'll admit, I'm a little gutted. Not as impressed with their ending, either though. And that government funding thing is pants. Okay, yes, it helps to get the shows on TV, but when they're enjoyed, there should be an option to keep them going!_

_Elizajo -Whilst the though if someone from 9 reading this actually terrifies me, if it gave them the hint to rescue Rescue, they could read it all they want! :)  
><em>


	21. Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 3

**_Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas (assuming you celebrate Christmas... if not, I hope you've had a good month?)_**

_Sorry for the disappearing act! Long story short = a full time day job, plus a job in the entertainment / hospitality industry means that for the month of December I have worked about 200 hours... and I've been off for the last week catching up on sleep! Oh, and I met a boy too (:D) __This is the first chance I've really had to update... but it's my longest chapter yet! Does that count for anything? *hopeful smile*_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Newlyweds in the National Park, pt 3<strong>

Chase had a gift. When he was little, and always reading his superhero comics, he used to consider it his superpower. Now, he just considered himself lucky. He had the ability to sleep. Perhaps it was because he was the youngest of what weren't exactly three quiet boys, but no matter what, he could always sleep. Even when he was worried, sleep came easily to him. His dad often joked there was more chance of waking a corpse.

Thankfully, he'd been told that his brother and Felicity were safe by the time they'd bedded down, and he'd had no problem in getting to sleep. So, when he woke up the following morning, he was surprised to hear the thunder grumbling away overhead.

"Of course you slept through it," Dean muttered, grumpily, an hour or so later as they continued through the bush. "If a plane crash landed next to your bed, you'd sleep through it."

"I see you're in a good mood," Chase told him.

"Once again, your observation skills are second to none," Dean snarked back at him.

"And you haven't made up with Lara," Chase added, before promptly slipping - only just catching his balance before he landed on the muddy ground below. Something Dean hadn't quite managed earlier, coating himself in mud.

"Leave it, Chase," Dean warned.

"But it's you and Lara. You always make up," Chase pressed.

Dean whirled back to him. "Well maybe this time we won't. Now leave it." He turned back and stepped off the fallen trunk. And then he let out a cry of pain.

"What? Dean?" Chase cried as Dean stumbled back against the log.

"Stay there!" Dean commanded, keeping his eye on something in front of him.

"Dean?"

"I've just been bitten," Dean grunted, slowly easing himself to Chase's side of the trunk, trying not to annoy the snake further. Finally, he was clear, and Chase hurried over as Dean rolled his trouser leg up. "Shit," he muttered, one very obvious puncture mark just above the top of his boot.

Chase stared down at the bite mark, his eyes as wide as his mind went blank. "What's that?" he demanded, crouching down to examine the small wound.

"Snakebite, Chase," Dean told him, reaching for his radio.

"What kind of snake?" Chase demanded, moving slowly towards the trunk to peer over the other side.

Dean frowned, grabbing Chase's sleeve and yanked him back. "We don't need both of us getting bitten. I didn't see it."

"All the more reason to see what it is," Chase pointed out.

"Forget it, Chase," Dean told him. "Rescue Team Leader to Rescue Portable Eight: You up yet, Vince."

"_Yeah, go ahead, Deano."_

"We might have a little bit of a problem," Dean told him, closing his eyes as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

* * *

><p>Felicity's eyes shot open at the sound of Vince's gruff voice. "I didn't realise we were playing musical beds," he said, as he peered into the tent. "Get your arses in gear," he added, disappearing from view.<p>

"Someone didn't get enough beauty sleep," Lachie muttered, smacking his lips as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Thanks," Felicity told him, shrugging herself out of the sleeping bag.

"I was on about Vince," Lachie started to defend himself, before realising Felicity was playing with him.

Felicity leant forward and stuck her head out of the tent. "Oh look. More rain. What fun." She sighed and got out of the tent, frowning further when she noticed Vince's expression. "Lachie, I think there's something wrong," she said, getting out of the tent and hurrying over. "Vince?"

Vince held his hand up. "What kind of snake?"

Felicity's eyes widened. "Vince?" she tried again.

"_I don't know. I didn't see it,"_ Dean told him.

"Did you see what colour it was?" Vince asked.

"What's going on?" Lachie asked, joining them.

"Someone's been bitten by a snake," Felicity explained quietly, wondering why it was taking Dean so long to respond.

"_Brown, I think," _Dean finally radioed through.

Vince gave Lachie a sideways glance, making a decision. "Deano, you need to get the patient lying down with the bite wound below the heart where possible. Get Chase to monitor the vitals."

"_Sure," _Dean responded, sounding slightly confused.

Vince turned to Lachie. "Go get the tents packed up. Now." Lachie gave him a puzzled look, but did as was asked. Felicity made to go help him, but Vince caught her sleeve. "I need to get in touch with Michelle."

"Okay," Felicity shrugged.

Vince sighed. "I need you to make sure that Lachie doesn't hear this conversation."

"Why?" Felicity asked slowly. Then she shook her head. "Actually, don't tell me. I'm a terrible liar."

Vince nodded slowly. "Flick, go help Lachie."

Felicity gave him a nervous smile and quickly hurried over to help Lachie put down their tent.

* * *

><p>The rain wasn't helping things. Chase had moved Dean to a more sheltered area where he could treat his brother's injuries. With the bandage firmly on and covering the majority of his leg, Chase had left Dean where he could keep an eye on him, and had carefully gone back to the area Dean had been bitten to see if he could find and identify the snake. It was no good. The snake was long gone.<p>

Although he hadn't spent long trying to find it, by the time he had returned to Dean, he was already starting to show symptoms. "Rescue Portable Four to Rescue Portable Eight: Vince, we need to get out of here. He's showing signs of it being a venomous snake," he informed Vince, his own chest feeling like it was restricting.

"_Chase, we're heading to you now. I've spoken to Michelle and we're getting the chopper in the air ASAP,_" Vince informed him, sounding convincingly reassuring. "_If you let me know what symptoms are showing before we leave this ridge, I can let Michelle know so she can inform the hospital."_

"Sweating, his eyelids are drooping," Chase reported as he examined his brother again. "His eyelids are drooping and he's telling me he's having difficulty seeing, and he's beginning to slur his words."

"_Chase, hang tight. We're heading to you now."_

Lara and Jordan had been the first of all three teams to wake up, pack up, and continue on, much to Jordan's surprise. Like Chase he had slept relatively well (when he'd accepted the fact there was no way he was going to _any_ signal where he was), and was curious as to why he was being awoken as the first creeping of light had made their way to tents.

They had had something to eat and quickly packed; pressing through the dense foliage and Jordan was quickly beginning to appreciate the early morning wake up call. The sooner they found the lost hikers, the sooner he could be out of the perpetual wet.

They'd been walking for about forty minutes when they heard Dean inform Vince about the snakebite. The colour had completely disappeared from Lara's face as she stared at the radio in her hand in disbelief. Beside her, looking just as concerned, Jordan was pouring over the map, trying to assess Dean and Chase's location in comparison to their own.

"What about us, Vince?" Lara asked, already knowing that regardless of what Vince said, she and Jordan were heading straight for Dean.

"_You and Jordan are closer. Get to him and we'll meet you there. I'm getting an SES team to relocate to this ridge, but we're going to lose the radio for a while. Be careful_."

That was all Lara needed. Practically leaving Jordan in the dust, she set off at a determined jog towards the location Vince had given them.

"You need to slow down," Jordan called after as she slid on a particularly slippery section ground. "You'll be no help to Dean if you hurt yourself."

"And I'll be no help at all if we get there too late," Lara called back, shuddering at the thought.

Jordan continued to hurry after when something caught his attention. "Lara?" he called.

"I'm fine, Jordan," she yelled back without breaking her pace.

"No - I can hear something!" he told her.

Lara stopped, turning on her heel. They stood in silence, listening to the sound of the fat raindrops hitting the tree canopy above them. Then Lara heard it too. A faint cry for help. "That way," she muttered, pointing in a direction which would take them further away from Dean, rather than towards him. Although it never became vocal, Lara cursed. However, aware that she couldn't abandon a cry for help, even if she wanted to, Lara forced herself to concentrate on the closer need for aid.

"Rescue portable three to Rescue portable eight: Vince, are you still on the ledge?" Jordan asked as he and Lara jogged towards the cries.

"_Barely," _Vince responded. "_I'm just about to follow Lachie and Flick down to lower ground."_

Jordan glanced down at his GPS. "I think we may have found the missing hikers," he explained, quickly reeling off their location and the direction they were heading in.

"_Shit," _he heard Vince curse.

* * *

><p>On top of the ridge, Vince peered over the edge. "Felicity!" he yelled. "Get back up here." He could see Lachie and Felicity share a puzzled look, but she did as was requested and made her way back up to the top.<p>

"What's up, Vince?" Felicity asked as she hauled herself up.

"It sounds like Jordan and Lara have found the missing hikers," Vince started to explain.

Felicity stared at him for a brief moment. "Vince, I'm a terrible liar," she hurriedly pointed out even though she could feel her stomach bounce about nervously. He hadn't said it, but she wasn't stupid. The thing was, so long as he didn't say it out loud, it was purely speculation on her part.

"I need you to get to Dean and Chase," Vince told her. "I've spoken to Michelle and SES aren't going to get to this location for a couple of hours. If you and Lachie get a move on, you can be there and back before then. I need to keep base updated with the hikers, and I need to keep you updated with the chopper."

"Chase or Dean?" Felicity finally asked.

"Dean," Vince said. "And I need you to keep Lachie and Chase under control."

Felicity nodded, numbly, a little too distracted to even begin to consider how on earth she would manage that, and descended the rope. "We need to move," she told Lachie as she hit the ground.

"What did Vince say?" Lachie asked as he watched Felicity detach herself.

"That he's staying up there and we need to move quickly," Felicity quickly abbreviated as she set off at a near jog in an effort to avoid his stare.

"Okay?" Lachie asked, quickly catching her up. They couldn't have been jogging for more than a couple of minutes before Felicity sighed and stopped. "What's going on?" Lachie asked her.

"I can't do it," Felicity muttered. "Vince is probably right and I probably shouldn't tell you." She took a deep breath. "It's Dean. He was bitten by a snake."

Lachie blinked, taking a second to process the information, then, wordlessly, he turned and set off at a sprint. Felicity took a deep breath and followed him.

* * *

><p>"Over here," Jordan cried, spotting the bright blue windbreaker seconds before Lara. The two hurried over to the woman.<p>

"Are you Patricia?" Lara asked, crouching down beside her.

"Yeah," Patricia winced as Lara checked her over. "I'm fine – it's my husband," she cried.

"You have a broken leg," Lara pointed out. "You're not fine."

Jordan gave Lara a sharp look before turning his attention to their patient. "Let me treat you and Lara will go look for your husband," he suggested, pulling out the pain relief stick for Patricia to suck on. She nodded, taking the stick and took a deep breath.

"He's that way," she told Lara, pointing. As soon as Lara grabbed her bag and started moving, Patricia turned back to Jordan. "I'm pregnant."

"I know," Jordan assured her. "And we're going to get you to a hospital as soon as we can," he added, starting his own assessment of the patient.

"It was a snake," Patricia muttered.

"You were bitten?" Jordan asked, looking up at her. "Your husband?" he tried again when she shook her head.

"No," Patricia explained. "He saw it and pulled me out of the way before I trod on it. Only we stumbled." She winced as Jordan began treating her broken leg. "He landed on a branch. It-" This time, the gasp was from the memory, rather than Jordan's touch. "It impaled him."

"_Rescue portable eight to Rescue portable three: Sitrep?"_ Vince's staticy voice barked at Jordan.

* * *

><p>It didn't take Lara long to locate Patricia's husband, Julian. He was lying back against a tree, a thin, broken branch protruding from his lower abdomen. Lara hurried over, checking for a pulse. He was cold, soaked – largely from the rain, but also from the blood which was slowly seeping from his wound - and unconscious. But he had a pulse. Albeit a weak one.<p>

All while talking to Julian, she set up and inserted a drip. He needed to be removed from the branch and taken to a hospital, but removing the branch in this location would be more detrimental to his health than anything. Which meant the branch needed to be left in him, and instead, cut off the tree. Lara had the equipment, but she needed help.

Lara was about to radio Jordan and request his assistance when Vince radioed. She listened while Jordan filled Vince in on his patient's situation, and then added her findings. "Vince, I need help," she finished.

"_I can't leave Patricia,"_ Jordan radioed back.

"_The helicopter is five minutes out,"_ Vince added. "_As soon as Dean is airborne, I'll send Chase and Lachie to your location. SES are still an hour from your location. You'll have to walk them out."_

"I don't think we have that long," Lara told him. "We need to get Julian in the chopper."

"_Dean doesn't have the time to wait while you get Julian off the tree," _Vince returned.

* * *

><p>Heidi took a deep breath and pushed open the door, taking a few steps towards the helipad as she waited for the previous pilot to disembark. In front of her, its rotor blades still spinning stood the bright red Rescue helicopter.<p>

"She's all yours," the other pilot told her as he strode towards her. At Heidi's lack of response, he cocked his head, waving his hand in front of her face. "Wilson, right?"

Slowly, Heidi turned to him, blinking as she focused in on him. He was about her height with a shaved head and built like a wrestler. He also, she realised, had an Irish accent and bright white teeth. "Yeah."

"You don't look so good," he told her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, grateful for a distraction.

"Liam O'Byrne," he offered, somewhat surprised that she didn't seem to recognise him. "I was the one who did your official report on the crash. That's not why you're here?" he asked, slightly confused.

Heidi shook her head. "I've been cleared to fly. Got an emergency evac in the Blue Mountains."

"Oh, the missing hikers," Liam nodded. "You know, I'm still happy to go through that report with you?"

"No," Heidi responded firmly. "I don't need to."

"Mmmm," Liam agreed, his expression saying the opposite. "Well, she's all yours," he repeated, indicating to the awaiting chopper.

"Yeah," Heidi muttered, her feet rooted firmly in place.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she responded, somewhat venomously.

She wasn't.

There were two things she was completely certain of. The first was that that helicopter needed to be in the air and en route to Dean's location. The second was that she wasn't going to be flying it, no matter how much she wanted to. Just the thought of walking over to it was enough to make her want to throw up, never mind the fact her hands were shaking so much she wasn't even sure she'd be able to open the door.

And as she glanced at Liam, she was certain of one other thing. There was no way she was able to admit that second fact to him.

Somehow he seemed to sense that. "You snooze, you lose," he told her, darting over to the helicopter.

It wasn't until the helicopter was no more than a dot in the dark clouds that her heart stopped pounding.

* * *

><p>By the time Lachie and Felicity made it to Dean and Chase, Dean wasn't looking so good. Frankly, Felicity noted, neither was Chase. He was only marginally less grey than his brother and looked immensely relieved to see Lachie and Felicity.<p>

"How's he doing?" Lachie demanded as he dropped down beside both of his brothers.

Chase shook his head, helplessly. "He's going in and out of consciousness, and-"

"He's stopped breathing," Lachie cried as he tilted Dean's head back and started breathing into his lungs.

"Vince, we need that helicopter now," Felicity cried into her radio as the rain started to fall more heavily.

"_Heidi's five minutes out,"_ Vince responded. "_You're going to have to move Dean to an area where they can lift you out."_

Chase was already pulling a rolled up fabric stretcher from Lachie's backpack and laying it on the ground beside Dean. Felicity reached into her own back and pulled out a ventilation mask from her bag. "Lachie, we need to move him," she told Lachie, waiting for Lachie to lean back so they could roll him onto his side. After Chase had pulled the fabric stretcher underneath him, she covered his nose and mouth and squeezed the balloon while Lachie and Chase lifted the stretcher.

"We passed through a clearing," Lachie told the small group. "This way," he added, setting off a jog.

They arrived at the small clearing moments before the helicopter. "_Someone order an evac?" _A male, Irish – clearly not Heidi – voice asked, a stretcher and harness already on its way down, swinging wildly in the wind.

"_Rescue portable eight to rescue portable six: Flick, I need Lachie and Chase to get to Lara and Jordan's position. They need assistance with their patients and you're closer to them then SES,"_ Vince radioed as the stretcher reached the ground.

Felicity ignored the command as the three of them battled to stabilise the stretcher. Evidently the helicopter was struggling to stay still in the bad weather.

"Rescue Helios, you need to keep still," Chase bellowed, waving in frustration through the rain at the helicopter above them.

"_I'm trying!"_ the pilot exclaimed. There was another tug as the stretcher jerked away.

"_Flick?"_ Vince tried again. "_Do you copy?"_

Again, Felicity ignored him as she and Chase attempted to pull Dean onto the stretcher, while continuing the breathes, as Lachie, held the stretcher to the ground with all his strength. Finally Dean was strapped in.

"I'm going," Lachie snapped, reaching for the harness.

"No, I am," Chase cried.

Felicity steadily squeezed at the balloon, reaching for her radio. "Will do my best, Vince," she responded. "Guys, Vince wants you to help Lara and Jordan. I don't care who goes and who stays, but Dean needs to leave now," she said, firmly.

Lachie nodded first. He dropped to the ground and took the control over Dean's breathing. "Chase, help Felicity into the harness," he ordered.

Minutes later, Felicity and Dean were in the helicopter. "We need to get to a hospital," Felicity commanded at the unknown pilot. "And where's Heidi?"

"Nice to meet you too," the pilot told her. "I'm Liam, pleased to meet you."

Felicity sniffed. "Whatever... Felicity... just get us to the hospital."

He did. The next half hour passed in a blur. They landed on the roof of the hospital where a small team were waiting for them. Even as they took the elevator down, the doctors were administrating anti-venom while another was swabbing a sample from the bite wound. And then Felicity was left waiting in the hallway.

She was on her way to the pay phone to update Michelle when the yells from Dean's room stopped her. As she finally filled Michelle on a short time later, Dean was allergic to the anti-venom and had to be given Epinephrine before the doctors could continue with the anti-venom.

* * *

><p>It was a couple of hours later when Lachie, Chase and Lara arrived, and thankfully Dean was stable. Felicity recited what Michelle had evidently already told them, and then sat back down while Lachie and Chase went to see their brother.<p>

"Are the hikers okay?" Felicity asked as Lara sat down beside her.

Lara took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "The wife and baby seem to be fine," she told her. "The husband... he's didn't make. He died in the ambulance."

"Oh," Felicity mumbled.

"Yeah," Lara agreed, leaning back into the chair, heavily.

They sat there in silence for a long time, before Felicity yawned. "Can I borrow your phone? Mine disappeared in the mountains and I'd really like to have a hot bath."

"I know there's an app for most things, but I don't think you're getting a bath out of that," Lara pointed out as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it over.

Felicity rolled her eyes, typed in Cole's number and hit call. He sounded out of breath. "_I'm in the middle of something. I'll be there when I can._"

"Go see Dean," Felicity muttered, handing the phone back.

"I don't know if I should. Lachie and Chase are with him," Lara shrugged.

Felicity sighed. "Look, what we saw with Zoe – I'll deal with it. Just go and see him."

"I'm still not sure it's a good idea," Lara told her.

"Fine, stay here with me. But the chances are, I'm about to fall asleep, so I'm going to be crappy company."

* * *

><p>A sense of déjà vu flashed through Lara as she stood in the doorway, staring down at the figure in the bed. Seeing any of the team lying in a hospital bed was something she didn't want to see, but seeing Dean not only seemed that bit worse, but she couldn't help to feel responsible for him being there. It was always her and Dean working together, and now he was lying... all because she was too stubborn to admit that maybe he had been right and it hadn't been her business.<p>

"Come sit with him," Lachie told her softly, rising from his seat beside him.

"I don't know," Lara muttered.

"I have something to do, and Chase could sleep through a hurricane," he told her, nodding his head in the direction of his younger brother who was asleep in an easy chair. "You have about half an hour before dad gets here," he added. Without waiting for Lara to consent, he left her in the room.

Lara walked over to the chair Lachie had vacated, and with her attention focused on Dean, managed to get the chair legs to squeal as she sat down, pushing it backwards. She winced, looking over at Chase. Despite Lachie's comments, she was surprised to see Chase hadn't stirred. Dean on the other hand, gingerly opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Sorry," Lara muttered in horror.

"I need water," Dean told her, his voice hoarse.

Lara quickly complied with his request and poured a cup. "No straw," she said, apologetically, as she held the blue plastic cup to his lips.

Dean took a few grateful sips before relaxing back into his pillow. "Hi," he smiled.

"Hi," Lara returned, sitting back down – carefully, this time. Perched on the edge of the seat, she looked at Dean, unsure as to where to start with the apologies.

It turned out she didn't need to _say_ anything. He read it all in her eyes. Dean reached over and squeezed her hand. "Snake bites," he muttered. "Wouldn't recommend it."

"No, I would assume not," she agreed.

"Next time, I think you'd better keep me out of trouble," he added.

Lara squeezed his hand back. "Deal."

* * *

><p>Lachie left Lara and started to make his way outside to make a phone call. To his surprise, the person he was going to call was still in the hospital. She was still seated in the uncomfortable bright blue plastic chairs in the cold waiting room, her head leant against the trunk of an artificial tree, fast asleep. He frowned and made his way over, sitting down beside her. "Goldfish," he said gently, shaking her shoulder.<p>

Felicity sat up sleepily and leant forward, rubbing her eyes. "How's Dean?" she asked.

"He's going to be fine," Lachie told her. "Lara's with him now."

"Good," she said, stretching and leaning back into the chair.

"What are you still doing here?" Lachie asked her. "I thought I heard Jordan offer to give you a lift home."

"He did," Felicity shrugged. "But I said I would call Cole." She frowned. "What time is it?"

"Gone eight," Lachie replied.

"Oh," she sighed. Evidently he was running late. Lachie started saying something to her, but her attention was distracted by a familiar brunette at the nurse's station. "Go give Lara a heads up that Zoe is here," she told Lachie, cutting off whatever he was telling her. She rose and marched over to the police officer. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I'm here to see my boyfriend," Zoe responded looking a little startled at Felicity's hostility.

"You mean, as opposed to seeing your fiancé?" Felicity asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Zoe asked.

"So you weren't ring shopping yesterday?" Felicity offered. "With a guy who clearly wasn't Dean?"

"That is none of your business," Zoe growled at her.

"I don't care," Felicity returned, her hands planting themselves on her hips. "I'm making it my business. Right now, the only reason I'm letting you anywhere near his room is because Dean is lying in a hospital after being bitten by a Death Adder. So, go in there, be a caring girlfriend, and let him recover, because the last thing he needs right now is to hear that news. But I swear to god, if you haven't told him by this time next week, I will."

Zoe narrowed her eyes and glared down at the woman in front of her. "Do you have any idea who you're threatening?"

"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "A cheating skank."

Zoe's lips flattened into a thin line. With one last glare, she turned on her heel, heading for the Dean's room.

"Do I want to know what that was about?" Lachie asked, rejoining her.

Felicity shook her head. "No. And please don't ask me, because I'm a terrible liar," she sighed.

Lachie studied her, nodding. "I trust you."

Felicity groaned, popping out her back. "If you listen hard enough, you can hear my bed calling." At Lachie's raised eyebrows, she rolled her eyes. "Calling _me._ So I am calling a taxi. Night, Lachie."

"Hey, goldfish," said Lachie, waiting for her to turn back to him. "Thank you for telling me about Dean."

* * *

><p>Jordan had gotten out of the shower to find a text message from Heidi waiting for him, asking if he wanted some company. He was in the process of texting the affirmative – his mother was working a nightshift – when there was a knock at the door. Seeing as the text message had been written a while ago, he assumed it was Heidi and opened the door, only wearing a towel.<p>

"Oh, hello," a pleasantly surprised greeting awaited him.

A greeting which wasn't from Heidi. "Freya?"

"Hi Jordan," she said, softly. "It's been a while."

"You're out?" he asked, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. He wasn't aware she had been in prison for so long, and she looked... terrible. He'd seen it plenty of times to know she was high.

"Jordan, I need your help," she told him, wrapping her arms around herself.

Unable to turn her away, he stepped to one side and allowed her in.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you all for still reading, all your wonderful reviews and messages, and of course for all the alerts and favourite adds! <em>

_Miss Deeds - i'll be honest, I'm personally not satisfied with your order. As the chef can do little more reheat, you do have the option of a complimentary dessert...?_

_ASandCastle103 - I didn't know that, thank you! Do you know when it's being aired? (And this throws a spanner into my theory... rats...!)_

_xxletgoxx - I'm sorry I've had to make you wait so long for another update! You are going to have to wait a little longer for that conversation, but it will be coming!_

_meddrama - I'm glad I could provide! There will certainly be more chapters like that, and definitely more moments!_

_Rescuelover - I think you may be right ;) LOL_

_MissShawnaAlice - Hehe, thank you :) I have joined the forum! I've just been as active over there as I have here... it's my next stop :)_

_MMC gang - Yeah... it's been a while... I'm sorry!_

_Elizajo - Thank you. I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner - real life just got in the way!_


	22. The Rugby Final, pt 1

_I feel that every time I update, I start by apologising for not updating sooner. Well, I officially suck at updating, and I am really sorry about that and for keeping anyone waiting for a new chapter. I can promise that I have never forgotten about this story, however. I have a somewhat vaild reason - the short of it is that I have a new job. Rather than bore you with the details, you can head to my profile page. __I have written about ten chapters in my absense - the problem being, I probably need about ten chapters to get to the point where I can post them. I am also working on a little something else for y'all (hopefully something of a treat) - so stay tuned! _

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><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You?<strong>

**Chapter 22: The Rugby Final, pt 1**

_A Field full of ravers with their ribs broken  
>Bounce up til their shins open<br>Bones poking through,  
>All beat up but a token few<br>Was hoping you would come to riot  
>Bring storms for you to ride it<br>If you aint hurt and covered in dirt  
>You didn't turn up, shudda gone to work<em>

Hooligans, Example

Dean slipped his jacket on, grabbed his car keys and opened his front door. After spending a night in hospital under observation (and with surprisingly no objections on Dean's part), the doctor had allowed him to be discharged on the condition he had 24 hour supervision at home. With Chase at work, he had spent a few days with his dad and dad's girlfriend. By the weekend, the doctor had allowed him back to his own place, on the condition he take the weekend easy before returning to work on restricted duty.

Again, Dean had agreed. However, he had no intention of staying in his apartment. True, despite his boredom, he wasn't going to go into work. There was no way Michelle was going to let him within a hundred feet of the station, to start with. But that didn't mean he didn't have other plans.

Zoe. With the exception of her coming to see him that first night in the hospital, he hadn't seen her since, she wasn't answering her phone, and her text messages were short and evasive... _I'm working._

Which was why he was about to walk out the door. Only he stopped when he found Lara in front of him, her hand raised as though to knock, looking a little startled at his appearance. He blinked in surprise. "Shouldn't you be over at the Sun Stadium?" he asked her.

"I don't care how shiny that new stadium is," Lara muttered, pulling a face. "I still think they should have been playing at Moore Park, and also," she added. "I don't care how much money Sun Airlines is sponsoring them..." she trailed off at the amused look Dean was giving her.

"I was just on my way out," Dean told her.

Lara shook her head. "You have strict instructions not to leave the house, so you can turn around, sit down on the couch and wait for me to cook some popcorn up ready for kick off."

"If you're such a big rugby fan, you should be at the final with the others," Dean pointed out without budging from the doorway.

"I'm not," Lara responded. "But it seemed unfair that everyone else had such a good view of the game and you couldn't go."

"You don't have to do that," Dean told her, trying to work out how to get rid of her so he could leave his apartment.

Lara eyed him sharply. "I'm going to pretend you're not trying to think of a way to make me disappear," she informed him. "But you are going to do a yewy and park yourself on the couch."

Growling under his breath, Dean turned, quickly deducing Lara was going to get her way. He shrugged his jacket off, dumped his keys on the table and dropped down on the couch, flipping the television on. From the kitchen, he could hear Lara rustling about in a carrier bag, followed by the sound of the microwave pinging open as she put a packet of popcorn in. Moments later, the sounds of the popcorn beginning to pop, she emerged in front of him, brandishing a bottle of beer. "Where was the fire?" she asked him.

Dean gave her a puzzled look, taking the beer from her. "Thanks. Fire?"

"You seemed a little eager to get out of the house," she shrugged. "And that's going to be your only one, so take it easy," she added.

"I was going to see Zoe," Dean sighed, unable to refrain from rolling his eyes. One beer, indeed!

"Fairly certain she's working," Lara muttered.

"You've spoken to her?" Dean asked in surprise.

Lara shook her head. "Dean, it's the Rugby League Finals. For the first time in god-knows-when that the Roosters are playing the Warriors. I'd heard that they were trying to call in as many police officers off their leave as they could. As soon as the finals were announced, the police were told that there wasn't a chance in hell that they were getting today off."

Dean sighed and sank back into the couch. He glanced over at Lara and frowned. "You know something, don't you?"

"I've already told you what I thought about Zoe," Lara replied carefully. "And you didn't like it. If there was something to know, and I'm not saying there is, but I'd rather it didn't come from me." From the kitchen, the microwave pinged. "Excuse me," she muttered.

Dean watched her leave. They'd been working together for so long now, he knew when she was hiding things. And she was hiding things. That being said, even though he'd chosen not to speak to her, it had been lonely. He sighed. Partners were supposed to trust each other – if Lara didn't want to tell him, he was going to have to trust that she was doing it for a good reason.

She returned then and settled down on the couch, placing a large bowl of popcorn between them. As she took a handful and started nibbling on it, Dean sighed inwardly. No, this was a better situation. He would have to wait and talk to Zoe directly.

* * *

><p>It was a grey day, really. The sun wasn't really trying to break through the clouds, but neither was the rain. It also had the added advantage of being a pleasant temperature – cool enough that you needed a jacket, but warm enough you could leave it undone. Unless of course, you were Felicity, and still amazed at how much warmer it was there than in England.<p>

According to Cole, they (he and Felicity) were the reason Rescue were at the match. According to Vince's account, Rescue had put in the tender months ago, and as soon as Lifeblood had done a very quick disappearing act, it had been awarded to them. Frankly, Felicity didn't give a damn. She was working, surrounded by friends, and all whilst having a front row seat to one of her fiancé's most important games of his career.

There had been units called in from the surrounding areas, but it was their team which had the prime position in the south stand. The Sun Stadium – the new home ground for the Sydney Warriors - had only just finished construction in time for the final. That being said, there were still large areas boarded off, unfit for public entry. Consequently, it was the stand allocated to the Rooster fans that still had some work left to be completed on it. (Although officials would never admit to it, there was a fierce rivalry between the two Sydney teams, and the Roosters would have done the same thing, given half the chance). What the Warriors failed to realised, was that today, it had the best atmosphere.

"Are you not tired from all this dancing around?" Vince asked Felicity, watching her in amusement. He, Chase, Lachie and Felicity were the only four in their section. When it had been discussed with Michelle a few days prior, there were originally going to be two teams from their unit. He, Lachie and Felicity were one, and Chase, Heidi and Jordan were making up the other team. Then Heidi had scheduled an appointment with her psychiatrist, and only hours before the game started, Jordan had called in sick.

"Shhhhhh!" Felicity hissed at him.

"Well you're making me tired, watching you," he told her – half joking, half serious.

"Vince, there are three minutes left on the clock and the score is tied," Felicity pointed out, her gaze never leaving the game.

"Still a tie?" Chase asked, rejoining them. He and Lachie had gone for water a while ago.

"Took you long enough," Vince grumbled taking the offered bottle from Lachie.

"Felicity?" Lachie offered, waving the bottle in front of her.

"Thanks," Felicity muttered, barely sparing him a glance. Just as her hands wrapped around the bottle, she froze. On the pitch, things had suddenly become worrisome.

It had been a close match all through the game, with no clear leaders. As soon as one team scored, the other would quickly equalise. Currently, the score was tied at seventeen-all. With minutes left on the clock, the remaining game was crucial, and the Warriors were pushing ahead. Then Cole went in for a tackle.

Felicity's eyes widened. Truth be told, she preferred to watch football – the English kind. But with a boyfriend who played rugby professionally, she had started watching games and trying to learn as much about the sport as possible. That was why her eyes flew to the referee. From the angle she was at, it looked like a high tackle – an illegal move. Her attention flicked back to the player. He was on the ground and not getting up. It wasn't until a cheer erupted around her that she realised Cole had made a try.

With her lower lip still caught firmly between her teeth, she continued to watch the referee. He was over by the injured player, waiting for him to be carried off on a stretcher. By the looks of things, he'd injured his collarbone. And then the referee gave the signal – the points would stand – just as the time went.

Felicity blinked. That meant... she (along with half the stadium) let out an excited scream, knocking the bottle out of Lachie's hands as she leapt at him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thanks, Flick," Vince grumbled at her, rubbing his ear. "Now I'm deaf in that ear." But even he was smiling.

After the celebrations, the crowd began to leave in good spirits. The four of them were beginning to gather their kit together when a pair of guys appeared – both on the wrong side of sober. Although they were clearly celebrating the win, one had a large cut on his knee. Upon seeing Chase's raised eyebrows, his friend grinned. "He's drunk. He fell up the stairs."

Vince sighed. "Flick, you and Lachie make a start on loading up Rescue One. We'll deal with this twit," he said, indicating to himself and Chase.

Lachie gave his brother a very unsympathetic grin as he hurried after Felicity who had already skipped away with a couple of bags. "Wait up, Goldfish," he chided.

"You need to work out more," Felicity teased him, slowing her pace slightly.

"You need to come to one of my training sessions," Lachie retorted.

Felicity gave him a sideways glance. "I'd want to keep the weight off, not buff up."

Lachie grabbed at her arm, twisting her around with an exaggerated shocked expression on his face. "Felicity Lowe, was that a compliment you just paid me?"

"Depends if you think I like buff types?" she shrugged.

"You're getting married to a rugby player," he pointed out. A grin just spread across his face. "And here I thought you thought I was a moron."

"You are a moron," Felicity quickly assured him. "Unfortunately, you missed the branches on the ugly tree as you fell to earth," she added, rolling her eyes.

"Fell to earth?" he repeated, the grin growing. "Now you're comparing me to an angel?"

"Only if he's called Lucifer!" she shot at him, turning on her heel and continuing along the large corridors to where Rescue 1 was parked.

Behind her, Lachie chuckled. "He was still an angel," he called after her.

She smiled. She couldn't help it. But the moment he caught up to her, she changed her expression to one of nonchalance. At the sight of his slightly smug, slightly proud smile, she rolled her eyes again. "It was a moment of weakness brought on by the Roosters winning. Don't get used to it."

"You think I'm a buff, good-looking angel," Lachie told her.

"I never said you were good-looking," Felicity responded. "You're twisting my words."

"You're not denying it," Lachie noted.

"And we're right back to you being a moron," Felicity said, smiling. They rounded a corridor, and pushed through the exit into the back area. She had taken a few steps towards the patrol vehicle when two things happened almost simultaneously. First she noticed the group of guys fighting. Secondly, Lachie had grabbed her arm again – this time with force – and pulled her back against the wall. She turned, ready to chew him a new one, but he had already discarded his bag and charged past her.

It wasn't a fight, so much as about ten men – Warriors fans – in a circle, beating the crap out of someone who was huddled up on the floor, trying to protect himself from the vicious beating he was receiving.

The first two men didn't see what hit them as Lachie bounded into the fight, yanking them away and punching them so hard, they staggered to the ground. It was enough for the remaining men to pause in the beating – focusing their attention on Lachie. "Leave him alone!" he yelled at them.

"Oh look, a hero," one of them called back. He was the tallest, widest and ugliest of the bunch. "And let me guess, a cheating Roosters fan," he added, advancing towards him.

"I said, leave him alone," Lachie repeated as the apparent leader squared up to him.

Felicity blinked, finding her feet and ran over. "No!" she bellowed. "That's enough. Just get out of here!"

"You bought a little girl along," the guy sneered.

"Jez, that ain't any old girl," another man told him, as Felicity tried to pull Lachie back. "That's Turner's woman."

Felicity froze again, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. "Hardly," Lachie snorted. "If she was, don't you think she'd be with the rest of the wives?" One hand snaked backwards, reaching for Felicity's hand and giving it a warning squeeze. The other hand slowly reached into his pocket.

"Nah, it's be been all over the papers, Jez," the second guy continued. "That Turner found a Brit and brought her back – that she works for Rescue."

Jez cocked his head, his attention on Felicity instead of Lachie. "Are you a liar and a cheat like your husband?"

"What?" Felicity stammered, feeling herself being slowly inched backwards by Lachie.

"Turner cheated. It was a high tackle and he should have been sent off," Jez told her, to a chorus of agreement from the men behind him.

"Then why didn't the ref call it?" Felicity demanded, despite herself.

"Felicity, shut up," Lachie hissed at her, his grip becoming tighter.

"That game was ours," Jez added. "Your fella took it away from us. Maybe we should take something away from him."

All of a sudden, Rescue One burst into life. With everyone's attention on the blaring alarms and flashing lights, Lachie moved quickly, first punching Jez in the side of the head, then, amongst the commotion, he turned, his grip still on Felicity and pulled her away.

He took off at a run, Felicity stumbling behind him as she tried to keep up, and led them back into the stadium. They had just reached the doors when there was a roar behind them. They pushed the door open with a bang and flew through. Lachie stopped, turning, and ran for the fire hose, pulling it from the wall and using it to tie the door shut, just as the gang reached the doors.

Lachie watched the door for a moment. It looked like it was going to hold. He turned his attention to Felicity – just in time to see the hand hurtling towards his cheek. He reached up, stopping it just before Felicity's palm connected. "What the hell?" he cried.

"Are you INSANE?" Felicity bellowed at him.

"What the _hell_?" Lachie repeated, glaring back at her.

"Are you insane?" Felicity roared back at him. "What in god's name possessed you to go charging into that? There were a dozen of them!"

"There were ten!" Lachie yelled.

"I don't give a shit!" Felicity exclaimed, stamping her foot. "There is only one of you!"

"And there was a guy who needed helping!" Lachie cried back. His hand shot up, again stopping Felicity from slapping him. This time, he held her wrist. "Will you stop trying to hit me?"

"Will you stop acting like a tool?" Felicity shot back, yanking her arm free. "Yes, he needed helping, but what good are you to him, when you're lying in a bloody pool next to him?"

"I could have taken them," he responded, defensively.

"No, you couldn't!" Felicity snapped. "There was one of you, and _ten_ of them. This isn't the movies. They wouldn't have waited to take their turn while you beat them up."

"I made a pretty good start!"

"Yeah, which they would have quickly finished," she all but growled at him.

"Then what should I have done?" he demanded.

"Call. For. Backup," she told him, emphasising each word.

Lachie glared at her, his nostril's flaring slightly. Then, with a huff, he snatched at his radio. "Vince, we need-" he was cut off by a loud, high-pitched squeal.

"What was that?" Felicity demanded.

"We..." he stopped, frowning. The commotion at the doors had suddenly stopped. "I don't like the sound of that." The muffled sound of the Rescue sirens also went quiet. "Felicity, move!" he yelled.

They moved out of the way of the doors just in time. With an almighty boom, Rescue One went flying through the doors, sending clouds of dust and rubble raining down around them.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for sticking with me! I know the disappearing act can be frustrating, but I do appreciate all the reviews, adds and hits I get! You make a girl feel special!<em>

_wickeduk - You can't see, but I'm blushing - thank you! The amount of times I've had to rewrite scenes because I didn't think I was being true to the characters - I feel relieved!_

_scifigirl - I have a soft spot for Chase - but my favourite is most definitely Vince. I wish I knew that character in real life!_

_Elizajo - Real life has really kicked my butt recently but I really can't complain - I'm finally in a job where I'm happy. But i truely do feel bad for taking forever to update!_

_MissShawnaAlice - Long day? I hope you're not working too hard? You need to keep time to write :)_

_meddrama - I really do have too much fun writing them - to the point that they overshadow everyone else... but I'm glad you like them :)_

_Jane - Sorry to make you wait!_

_xxletgoxx - They will find out everything... eventually (:P)_


	23. The Rugby Final, pt 2

_Did you know it's been over a year since I updated this? I'm sorry for the long wait. That is assuming there is anyone still reading this? Long story short, that 'dream job' I obtained became the job from hell. I ended up off sick with depression and no desire to write anything. It took being fired (yes, for being off sick), and finding a new job, for any writing desires to come back, but until today nothing for Rescue. I've just spent the past couple of hours trying to locate the work I had done on this story but I've also managed to lose my memory stick with it all on. I actually think I left it at the company that fired me. All gone, along with my plot outline. Never mind. It just means that I have to rethink this. _

_So, with that in mind, and taking into consideration the fact that it has been that long since I wrote the last chapter, please forgive me if this chapter seems a little jumpy. That is if anyone is still reading it and I haven't lost all of you? Which would be understandable... but if you are still reading, please do let me know!_

* * *

><p><strong>But Who's Going To Save You<strong>

**Chapter 23: The Rugby Final, pt 2**

"I hate drunks," Vince muttered under his breath. He was stood back, away from the drunken idiots, allowing Chase to treat them. It wasn't a serious cut – the guy had fallen over and scraped his knee. He probably couldn't even feel it. Vince sighed. He probably should help, but he was also probably more likely to hurt the guys further than help them. Drunks just weren't his favourite type of people to treat.

As they burst into the fourteenth rendition or _We Are The Champions_, he pulled some paperwork out. If it wasn't for the god-awful massacre of Queen it wouldn't have been too bad a day. The stadium had emptied quickly and looked to be deserted short of a handful of staff who were already setting to with the clean-up process.

Short of the pair of idiots behind him, there wasn't much to write up. He was done about the same time as Chase. "That's not the way out," he muttered as they watched the two guys make their way down the stairs towards the pitch.

"Told them twice," Chase shrugged. "They said they wanted some grass. Thought they were talking about something else."

"Bunch of bloody morons," Vince muttered.

Chase grinned cheekily. "I'm sure in your many years of experience you've done much worse."

The comment earned him a smack upside the head. "Less of that or you're walking home."

Although continuing to grin, Chase packed up the last of the bags, and slung it over his shoulder. He turned, ready to make a snarky comment to Vince about how long it was taking Felicity and Lachie to return from Rescue 1, when their radio's exploded into life.

"_Vince, we need-"_ Lachie's voice was cut off by an almighty crash which seemed to echo around the stadium in stereo.

Vince and Chase froze, staring in horror at each other, the colour draining from their faces as they realised exactly what had happened. "Lachie!" Vince barked into the radio. At the static that only returned back to him, he charged after Chase, running down the corridors in the direction the sound had emanated. "Rescue Portable 8 to Rescue Portable 7, Lachie?!"

They raced down the corridors, past the fans who were still mingling, yet staring down in the direction the two Rescue members were headed. Finally, the air became thick with dust and the once faint sound of a horn became blaringly louder. "Lachie!" Chase cried in horror, spotting Rescue 1 and the doorway which lay over it – and more importantly, the dark haired man who was slumped over the steering wheel.

. . .

Jordan sat at the kitchen table. Opposite him, Freya was staring a long-since cold cup of tea. Since making it nearly half an hour ago, they had sat at the table in silence, other than the light tapping of Freya's foot as she jiggled her leg up and down. The previous night, unable to turn her away, he had quickly text Heidi back and told her that he was going straight to bed. That was half right. He'd bundled Freya into his bedroom, given her a spare shirt to change into, and allowed her to spend the night in his bed while he took the couch.

"What the hell happened, Freya?" Jordan asked, finally growing impatient at Freya's silence. There was only so long he could stare at the ghost of the beautiful woman he once knew. Her skin was sallow, her eyes sunken, and her once luscious locks hung limply down her back.

She looked over at him, taking a few seconds to focus in on him, and let out a bitter laugh. "What happened?" she repeated. "You happened."

"I don't understand," he told her.

"You told me to turn myself in," she said, pointing her finger at him. "You said it was time to stop running. They sent me to prison, Jordon. _Prison_."

"You robbed a store," Jordan responded. "You were there when your boyfriend killed a man. I didn't think you would get sent down, no, but you can't tell me that was my fault."

"You left me again," Freya cried, the accusation turning into a sob. "You left me again," she repeated, finally bursting into tears.

Guilt flashed through Jordan. She was right. He had promised to keep in touch – to visit – to be there for her. He hadn't even been there for her sentencing. The guilt gnawed away at his stomach. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He stood, moving to her side. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

Tears turned into anger, and Freya leapt up, shoving at his chest. "Sorry? Sorry! I don't want your apologies," she spat at him.

Jordan stood there, motionless. Although her hands had a slight sting to them, she wasn't the strong woman he once knew. She was broken, in more ways than one. Finally, the hits subsided, and she fell against him, crying again. Unsure as to what to do, he wrapped his arms around her, and rubbed her back.

They stood like that for a while, until Freya suddenly stepped back, looking embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I shouldn't have come."

"You said you needed my help," he pointed out. "What do you need?"

Her arm flew to her forearm, subconsciously scratching it while she peered up at him. "Money," she said.

Jordan stared, watching her scratch, before returning his eyes to hers. "For what?"

"I, uh... I owe someone some money," she told him.

"Who?" Jordan demanded. "How much?"

"Just a couple hundred dollars," she said, he gaze quickly shifting to the floor.

"A couple hundred?" Jordan repeated. "For what?"

"Stuff," Freya shrugged. She glanced back at him, cocking her head as her hand reached out for his upper arm. "I could pay it off," she said, stroking his muscle.

Jordan's eyes widened as he realised what she was implying. "Freya!" he exclaimed, stepping back.

"Or you know, I could pay you back," she suggested with a shrug. "Whatever."

"I am not giving you money so you can go out and buy drugs," he told her firmly.

Freya's expression darkened. "Screw you!" she spat at him, before turning on her heel, and storming out of the house, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing behind her.

Wearily, Jordan sank down on a vacant seat, rubbing a hand over his face. "Oh Freya," he sighed. "What happened to you?"

. . .

Felicity opened her eyes, finding Lachie's bright blue eyes staring down at hers. She blinked for a moment, returning the stare. "That would be number five," he told her.

She blinked again, trying to make sense of what had happened. Her head was pounding, and judging from the pain at the back of it, she suspected that she had hit it. She was pressed up against a wall, dust and debris raining down around her as Lachie held her close to him, his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, his eyes showing concern at the lack of response. He took half a step back to assess her, releasing his hold on her. In an instant, his arms were firmly clamped around her waist, supporting her as a wave of dizziness washed over her. "Goldfish?" he tried again, moving his head in closer to hers.

"My head," she said finally, her hand flying to the part of her anatomy in discussion. She frowned, wondering why all she could hear was a horn blaring around her.

"Okay, let's sit you down," Lachie said, keeping his hold on her firm as he helped her lower herself down the wall. As soon as she was sitting, he motioned for her to lean forward and he quickly examined her head. "There's no cut, but I think we need to get you a hospital and that head of yours looked at properly."

"I'm fine," Felicity insisted, leaning past him. It finally dawned on her that what she was seeing was Rescue 1, mangled beneath the door they had only just been stood next to, and that annoying horn belonged to the vehicle. "We need to help them," she muttered, trying to get to her feet.

_"We_ don't need to do anything," Lachie corrected her as she failed to stand.

"He needs help," Felicity said weakly. She knew she had to help – that was her job. But for some reason, her legs didn't agree with her as they refused to take her weight. It also seemed to be getting darker, and she couldn't quite work out who was playing with the lights. That didn't make sense. They needed the light to be able to see what they were doing. The horn was making her head hurt and she closed her eyes.

"Hey," Lachie said gently, his warm hand cupping her face startling her into opening her eyes back up.

This time, the look in his eyes was less concern, and more worry... no, that was the wrong word. Panic? "Lachie?" she questioned.

"I think you need to sit here," he told her.

"No, I need to help," she insisted. Again, she tried to stand, and again, she failed. "Lachie, something isn't... something isn't right..." she realised.

"Flick!" Lachie cried as the woman in front of him suddenly lost consciousness.

"Lachie!"

Lachie turned, hearing his brother shout over the blare of the horn. "Over here, Chase!" he yelled back.

. . .

Vince arrived at Rescue 1 moments after Chase had, and spotted the same thing he had: the dark haired man slumped against the steering wheel. The two of them moved straight over to the injured driver, instantly coming to the conclusion that the man in the Warriors shirt wasn't the middle Gallagher brother. "Thank god," Vince muttered, as he heard Lachie's call over the sound of the horn. Beside him, Chase made to move around to the far side of the truck. Vince's arm shot out, grabbing Chase's collar just in time before part of the ceiling fell down on where Chase was about to step. "Lachie, sitrep!" he barked.

"I'm fine," Lachie yelled back. "Flick's unconscious: a head injury."

"Shit," Chase muttered beside him.

"How's she doing?" Vince asked, while assessing the situation in front of him. "Chase, you see to the driver, and take it easy."

"Vince," Chase started to object.

"Now," Vince ordered. As soon as Chase made for the driver, Vince tried to map away around to Lachie and Felicity.

"No other injuries, but her breathing is shallow. She needs a hospital," Lachie called.

"Lachie, I can't get to you this way. Can you get her out your side?"

There was a moment's pause. "Yeah, I think so."

"Go," Vince ordered. "I'll have an ambo waiting for you." He reached for his radio, quickly putting in the request. As soon as he had the assurance that there was still an ambulance at the stadium and it was being redirected to their location, he turned his attention to the rescue unit. Although there was plasterboard raining down on them, he wasn't concerned that the building was about to come collapsing down on them. Not that the plasterboard didn't cause a hazard.

Suddenly the horn stopped and he moved back around to the driver's side. Chase already had a brace around the driver's neck and had moved him back against the seat. "I need a hand, Vince," Chase called over.

Vince hurried over, avoiding the debris and reached into the back. As he reached for the backboard, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Felicity, limp in Lachie's arms as he carried her out through a small gap. Relieved to know they were out and Felicity would soon be receiving the attention she needed, Vince pulled the backboard out, laying it on the ground beneath him. Together they removed the driver and secured him on the board. "We can't get him out this way," Vince quickly told Chase.

Chase nodded. Ensuring his vitals were stable, they lifted him back the way they had come, past the crowds which were being controlled by the police, and out a nearby emergency exit to where another ambo was waiting. It wasn't until the man was safely on the ambulance that Chase turned to his superior. "Felicity?"

"Lachie got her out," Vince assured him. "Get one of the officers to give you a ride to the hospital. I'll let Michelle know what's happening while I take care of things here, but you need to keep us both updated. Understand?"

Chase nodded, quickly hurrying over to a nearby officer.

. . .

It was past midnight before the police had finished with Lachie. Chase had not long after Felicity had been safely delivered to a waiting doctor, and both his other brother and Lara a while later. After being assured that Felicity was going to be kept overnight thanks to a concussion, but she was out of the woods, the doctor had insisted that there was no reason that any of them had to stay any later than they had to.

Of course, they had all waited until Felicity had regained consciousness and heard for themselves that short of a horrific headache she was fine, before they had all filtered off. Lachie had gone straight to the police station to give his statement. He'd been there for a while, mainly because the officers were still busy dealing with the aftermath of the game and there hadn't been anyone to take his statement until an hour ago.

Finally free from the barrage of questions, Lachie was allowed out of the interview room, and headed back to the, now quiet, reception area. This one had a small television playing in the corner, and he was ready to walk past it, but a live news story caught his attention. "Hey, would you turn that up?" he asked the harassed looking officer behind the reception desk. Although he gave Lachie a filthy glare, he did as requested. Lachie ignored him and hurried over.

"_... spirits from their earlier win. The place is packed and the team are in no short supply of someone to buy their drinks from them. This is Michael Connors reporting live from Tiger Bar..."_

It wasn't the words so much as the images behind the reporter. Clear as day, in the middle of a crowd, doing shots, was Cole. Lachie frowned, glancing over at the clock. It was nearly two in the morning, and he was still out drinking? There was no way Felicity would have been taken to the hospital without Michelle notifying her fiancé.

The report must have been a recording – _stock images?_ Lachie figured as he headed out to his jeep. Surely Felicity's future husband wouldn't have continued to party knowing his fiancé was spending the night in a hospital bed?

With a manoeuvre which caused the guy behind to beep his horn, Lachie swung his jeep around and headed back over to the hospital. Still in his uniform, he didn't have any trouble making his way through the hospital, and the floor Felicity was being kept on was quiet enough that he snuck into her room unnoticed.

The room was lit by a security light from the building opposite, streaming through the windows with the curtains still hanging open. Lachie's eyes narrowed as he realised Felicity was all alone. "Oh, goldfish," he muttered.

"Lachie?"

Lachie glanced over at the figure on the bed. "You should be asleep," he told her, surprised she was still awake.

"I feel like I have a hangover from hell, without the fun of the alcohol being involved," she responded dryly. "But if I should be asleep, why are you here?" she asked him. "Is Cole okay?"

Lachie snorted, making his way over to the side of the bed. "Your _fiancé_ is still out drinking," he told her.

Felicity watched as pulled a chair over and sat down. "I know," she told him, simply. "Why are you here?" she asked again.

"You know?" Lachie asked in disbelief.

Felicity carefully nodded her head. "Yes. He called, and I told him it was just a concussion."

"But you're in hospital," Lachie exploded. Felicity winced at his loud outburst and he immediately felt guilty. "Sorry," he muttered. "But he should be here with you."

"Why should he?" Felicity asked quietly. "He has just won the biggest game of his career."

"And you're his fiancé."

"So?" Felicity shrugged. "Have you seen the injury rates for this team? This won't be the first or last time that I spend a night in a hospital bed. A rugby player's career is limited. This might be the only league win that Cole will experience. I don't want to take that away from him. Besides, it's not exactly visiting hours."

"I still made it in," Lachie pointed out.

"And why did you?" Felicity asked him. "You still haven't told me why you're here."

Lachie sat back, raking his hand through his hair. Why was he here? "I just wanted to make sure you were alright," he shrugged.

Felicity gave him a small smile. "Just a headache."

Lachie nodded and let out a deep breath. They sat there in silence for a while, until he suddenly grinned. "I think that takes my count up to six."

"Six?" Felicity repeated, dubiously.

"The Izuzu; the tree; that cliff face in the Blue Mountains; the fight at the stadium; moving you out of the way of doors; and getting you to the hospital," he listed, counting them off on his fingers as he did so.

Felicity stared thoughtfully at him. "Three. I'll allow three. But thank you," she added, giving him a grateful smile.

The grin on Lachie's face disappeared into a more serious expression as he leant over and grabbed her hand. "That's still three too many," he pointed out, squeezing gently. She stared at him, an emotion in her eyes he couldn't quite read. Quickly he released her hand and cleared his throat. "I think that clearly you should upgrade me to VIP at your wedding. I think top table honours are deserved. And I think you should also increase your bridesmaid numbers to include some hot, single blondes."

"And there's that annoying Lachie charm I know so well," Felicity said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>I was going to reply to each of your reviews here, but as I discovered that there were several mentions of how long it has been since I updated, I figured this would be a better approach:<em>

_Despite my long absence, I haven't given up on this story. There's a few more ideas left in me yet. I also want to make it clear that I truly appreciate every single review and even page view that this story has received. It completely floors me that so many of you have taken the time to read this little creation of mine, and while you continue to do that, I will continue to write. Even if the updates aren't as frequent as they should be, I will endeavour to finish this!_


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